On Seas We Never Sailed
by DeadKings
Summary: Harry and Hermione tackle the clue to the Second Task together and inadvertently change the course of their destinies. AU, Hhr.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

"Mostly he just watches me study...it's a bit annoying really."

Harry bit back another laugh. He had seen them a few times in the library and the longer Krum watched her, the easier it was the see her patience wear thinner as she battled with her desire to remain polite.

"I've seen a few times..."

"Oh Harry he's very nice really! You should have come over...his English isn't the best but you know about Quidditch, I'm sure you would..."

"Hermione its fine, I'm just sorry Ron messed up the end of the ball for you two. I don't think I've ever seen you so...relaxed?"

There was the hint of a smile as Hermione stared down into the mist.

"It was fun...I don't much know if I would do it again but I'm glad I didn't just wait for Ron to come to me as a last resort...don't look at me like that, of course I knew he would ask me eventually. I just got tired of being second best."

Harry watched the wind tug her hair free from its loose braid for half a moment before her words sunk in.

"You're not second best...you could never be second to any one Hermione, you're...you're brilliant!"

He couldn't decide if the tiny laugh she let out was good or bad but at least she wasn't shouting.

"No, I mean it...I suppose I just always thought that, being as smart as you are...you would know how important you were...I just didn't think..."

He didn't get a chance to finish as Hermione threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder, mumbling something about "boys" and "really no just be quiet" into his scarf.

Harry managed to free his arms enough to wrap them around her waist, pulling her into him as a comforting warmth spread through him.

"...Mione...you know you're my best friend, right? No matter what?"

He felt her shake her head and mumble Ron's name.

"How many times has he ditched me now? Ron's great...he really is but I never know what's going to set him off. I know I get it wrong with you sometimes but I always know you'll come back."

A flash of yellow caught his eye and Harry looked up to see Cedric hovering at the edge of his vision, looking a little sheepish. Hermione glanced around and tried to wriggle out of Harry's grip but he tightened his arm around her and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"Sorry to...interrupt...I was just looking for you...to say...to say that the prefects bathroom is a uh...great place to think that clue over...uh...you know, mull it over in the water."

He readjusted his bag on his shoulder and ran off before Harry could even begin to ask what he meant and Hermione was leaning back so she could talk properly.

"It wouldn't hurt to try...you're running out of..."

"Time, I know. You think if I don't crack it, I won't have to do the task? I was just thinking of refusing to do it at all...this whole 'life or death' thing is getting old."

He reached up and tucked a lose hair behind Hermione's ear.

"Please be careful...magical contracts can be tricky to get out of. Participating might mean actually making an attempt to win or it might mean just showing up and sitting around with the judges...it might strip your magic if you back out or it might fine you or it could even kill you...I know the tasks could kill you as well but at least you have a fighting chance?"

Harry released her from his grip, running one hand down her arm so he could take her hand and lead her back towards the castle.

"I wouldn't have gotten though the first task without you...what do you say we stake out the prefects bathroom and see what happens?"

Sitting in a stuffy cupboard outside a lavatory in the middle of the night was not most people's idea of fun. Harry couldn't even call it his idea of fun and he had been known to attempt some pretty unusual things in his time at Hogwarts. Even Hermione, who everyone _knew_ had an unusual idea of fun, was starting to question to point of the entire exercise.

"What is it with prefects and long baths? They have their own perfectly usable bathrooms in their houses. I can't see what could be so fancy about a secret bathroom in the middle of the school, miles away from..."

She suddenly blushed, sitting in such close proximity in the cramped space, Harry could practically feel the heat radiate off of her.

"...oh."

Harry grinned as he realised what had gotten her flustered.

"I doubt it's anything as bad as that - broom closets are the more traditional venues."

She sent him a mock-scathing look.

"And what would you know about broom closets Mr Potter?"

Harry shrugged, butting her shoulder with his.

"I've been getting pretty well acquainted with this one over the last hour...I swear that broom handle has tried it on with me at least three times now."

Hermione giggled.

"I wonder if they've realised were not in the common room yet...we were supposed to be meeting Ron and Ginny after dinner to work on the clue."

Harry turned the golden egg over in his hands as his mind filled with images of Ginny. She was wonderful, she truly was but he couldn't get over the nagging suspicion that he was supposed to feel something for her. A little voice in the back of his mind had been telling him it was the expected thing for months.

"Hmm...I don't know about you but I don't think I really want to share a broom closet with Ron..."

She looked up at him, her features thoughtful.

"What about Ginny? Or even Cho? I heard you asked her to the ball."

Harry openly laughed at that one.

"Ginny is an amazing person but...all I can think of when I see her is that little girl who put her elbow in the butter because the Boy Who Lived was sitting at her table. I know she's over it now but...first impressions and all and Cho..."

Cho was a harder one. She was, without a shadow of a doubt, Cedric's girlfriend and it was never going to happen - realistically he had known that from the start.

"...she's the same but different...I don't think anything was ever going to work out with someone I was too scared to talk to. A crush is just a crush I guess. To be honest, Hermione, you're the only constant I really have. Everybody else just drifts in and out depending on how much they want something from me."

If Hermione was going to say anything else it was lost as the giggling group of prefects who had taken over the bathroom an hour ago went thundering past their hiding spot. A brief check of the marauders map told them the coast was clear and within moments they were hidden under the invisibility cloak and sneaking through the door.

The prefect's bathroom was a sight to behold. White marble as far as the eye could see and the _bathtub_.

"I take it back, Harry; I think I know why they take so long...this is _glorious_!"

She headed straight for one of the many taps, turning on as many as she could reach and laughing brightly as the different coloured waters gushed out into the mammoth tub. Harry couple remember the last time he'd seen her with a look of such unreserved, child-like _glee_ on her face.

"So you're settled on being a prefect now?"

She looked almost scandalized.

"Harry! There are plenty other reasons for being Pre...you're joking aren't you...oh you are _terrible_."

Harry's bright grin didn't falter, even when she flicked a handful of bright pink water at him, soaking the front of his shirt. He kicked off his socks and shoes, rolled up his trousers and settled at the edge of the pool, tossing the egg between his hands.

Hermione waited until the huge pool was almost overflowing before turning off the taps and joining him at the edge.

"What now?"

They both stared at the egg, almost willing an answer to appear on the steamy surface.

"Maybe it's supposed to be under the water? The screaming might be a defence against something? "

Harry nodded, leaning forwards until her could hold the egg under the water. Nervously, he twisted the clip to open it, bracing himself for the ear splitting scream.

Realisation dawned across Hermione's face as, instead of the horrendous screams, an ethereal melody drifted up towards them.

"Oh my...Mermaids! Their voices can't be heard properly out of the water...you'll need to stick your head under the water to hear it..."

Harry faltered, his hand pausing half way to tugging his shirt off. Thankfully, Hermione caught the movement and laughed.

"Just jump in, I'll hit you with a drying charm later."

Ten minutes and several trips underwater to listen to the clue later, Harry had slowly managed to relate the whole song to Hermione. The final time he surfaced, she was standing at the side with a fluffy white towel for him, the map sitting open beside a sink.

"We need to get out of here, dry yourself off and I'll sort the charms once we get away from Filch."

It was difficult trying to manoeuvre the two of them along the dark corridors under the cloak, especially as Harry was very conscious of the way he must be dripping on the floor. Filch had been so close on their tail that they had to slip into the supply closet of an unused classroom until he was a full floor away.

Hermione quietly muttered the drying spells under her breath until Harry looked less like he had been thrown in the Black Lake and more like he'd been dragged through a hedge backwards.

"Your hair is always a mess; no one will notice much of a difference."

They had expected the Spanish Inquisition from Ron when they returned to the common room but they hadn't been prepared for the openly shocked stares from the rest of their house until the realised what they must have looked like - hair mussed from the humid bathroom and out of breath from running from Filch. Ron must have been building up a good head of steam for some time because the ensuing rant was one of his loudest to date.

"Where the bloody hell have you two been!? Viktor Krum not good enough, you gonna go for the other champions as well? Cause I"d pay good money to see you and Fleur-"

They never got to hear what Ronald Weasley would pay good money to see because he found himself pressed against a wall with the tip of a wand digging into his throat.

"I dare you to finish that sentence..."

Ron tried to push Harry away but he stood firm.

"Come off it Harry, it's just a joke...you've seen the way she's been hanging off all the champions, she's got no self-respect! I guess that mental Skeeter woman was right...I mean..."

There was a real fire in Harry's eyes when he drove his fist into Ron's face.

That was the moment that all hell broke loose. It felt like a thousand hands were pulling Harry back towards the portrait hole, away from where Ron was struggling against the Twins.

"Harry please stop!"

It was Hermione's voice that broke through the blood pounding in his ears and Harry shook himself back to reality to find Neville struggling to hold him back whilst Hermione put herself between him and the rest of the room.

"You can't expect me to let him talk about you like that!"

She sighed quietly, visibly upset by Ron's words but staunchly refusing to let it show.

"I don't expect _you_ to get yourself expelled because of him either. He's just as bad as Malfoy sometimes and he isn't worth it. Please, Harry...we have work to do."

She picked up the golden egg from where he had let it fall to the floor and pressed it into his hands before looking up to Neville who was trying to slip unnoticed away from the limelight.

"We might need your help Neville...could you and Harry grab any books you have on water plants? I'm going to ask Professor McGonagall if she'll extent our curfew."

Twenty minutes in the library with Neville and they had already started to pull a plan together for the second task.

Breathing underwater of an hour wasn't the problem - a simple bubblehead charm would more than suffice but Harry had admitted that he wasn't the strongest or fastest swimmer and Neville pointed out that the lack of oxygen was hardly going to be his only challenge.

Hermione refused to let him anywhere near the lake without a Plan B for if the charm failed or he was attacked.

When Neville pulled a book of water plants he'd gotten from Professor Moody across the table and flicked to the page of gillyweed, Hermione lit up.

"Of course! But it's too late to send out an Owl Order for some now and we'd have to steal it from Professor Snape...oh but if he seen you taking it before you got into the water you'd probably be penalised. What if..."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When the day of the next task swung around, Harry found himself standing at the side of the lake on a freezing February morning feeling a lot more confident than he had expected. The three of them turned in early the night before and Harry still hadn't been able to find Hermione in the seething crowds. Neville was hovering at his side, assuring him that she was probably caught up in the stands somewhere.

Still uncertain of exactly what he was supposed to be looking for in the Black Lake, Harry quietly cast the bubble Head Charm on himself as Fleur and Cedric did the same. Seconds later and the half-shark Krum was the first into the water and shooting into the depths.

As soon as he could no longer make out the daylight far above him, Harry pulled the Gillyweed from a pouch in his swimsuit, cancelled his charm and, in one gulp, forced himself to swallow the vile plant, all the while hoping beyond hope that it worked. A few seconds of searing pain and suddenly the water was far more comfortable and the webbing on his hands and feet propelled him further into the depths.

Despite catching sight of the odd Grindylow and something that looked suspiciously like a gigantic tentacle, Harry didn't encounter a single problem until he reached the Merpeople village.

Tied to a large slab were four people. A burst of outrage at the idiocy of the tournament flared through him before Harry's eyes focused in on Hermione and he frantically swam towards her, aiming a cutting curse at the seaweed-like rope that bound her to the slab. He was swimming up and along to catch her and pull her back out of the lake before the Merpeople had a chance to try and stop him.

Harry was the first champion to break the surface, despite waiting below the surface for a full fifteen minutes until the Gillyweed wore off.

As soon as the cold air hit her face, Hermione woke with a start and started flailing around, trying to support herself in the water. Harry had to hook one arm around her waist to calm her before he could help her into the little boat that started speeding towards them from the shore.

The closer they came to the judges table, Harry began to make out a grave look on Dumbledore's face. Moments behind him, Cedric had surfaced, Cho clinging to him for dear life and Fleur was only minutes behind them looking distinctly worse for wear with a small blonde girl in tow.

There was no sign of Krum or his hostage.

Once he got ashore and Madame Pomfrey had finished plying them with hot chocolate and blankets, Harry was whisked away towards the judges table.

"Harry...where is Mr Weasley?"

Harry could only offer them a blank look in return.

"How would I know? I haven't seen him since he tried to insult Hermione last night...he's probably sulking in the dorm if he isn't here."

Dumbledore looked more shocked than he had in all of the years Harry had known him.

"You have returned with the wrong hostage and, as such, we will have to penalise you...We can only hope now that Mr Krum does the honourable thing and brings your best friend to the surface."

Harry was close to breaking point.

"Best friend!? I'm sorry sir but your information is outdated. There is no way on earth that he's the thing I would miss most in this world. Hermione is. She always was."

He turned on his heel and stormed back to the medical bay where Neville had managed to bring them two extra Pepper Up Potions.

"You're never going to believe this...not only did they kidnap you and throw you at the bottom of the Black Lake in _February_, Dumbledore picked _Ron_ as my hostage. I'm being penalised for bringing back to wrong person. For all the interest that old coot takes in my life, he could at least keep tabs on who my friends are."

Neville handed him the potion and Harry downed it in one, the sensation of smoke pouring out of his ears went a long way to cooling his temper.

"This whole competition is a joke. Fleur was almost killed by Grindylows until Cedric managed to beat them back - what would have happened to her little sister?"

"You'd have gone back for her."

Neville pointed it out as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"We have enough Gillyweed left and you have that whole 'hero complex' thing and you'd have jumped in and saved her because no one here actually trusts the judges to bring them up safely."

Harry had to concede to his point but he was already preparing to staunchly refuse any requests to help Ron when Ginny Weasley barrelled into the tent and into his arms.

"Oh Harry thank Merlin! I was so worried! When I couldn't find Ron I thought you hadn't made it back but..."

She let go of him long enough to wildly look around the tent.

"...where is Ron? Is he okay?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at the little red head.

"How did you know Ron was Harry's hostage? No one but the judges were meant to know...we only found out just now."

She at least had the decency to look sheepish.

"They needed their guardian's permission...mum let it slip in her last letter..."

There was a painful pang of guilt over how Mrs Weasley would take the news of Harry not rescuing her son.

"Well you better hope that Krum will-"

The klaxon sounded before he could finish his sentence. Krum had returned.

Viktor was dragging a befuddled looking Ron into one of the boats and was shouting in Bulgarian at his headmaster who was trying to explain the situation. From what Hermione was hurriedly whispering to Harry and Neville, he was less frustrated by his hostage and more concerned that there were humans down there in the first place.

"I can't make out much more than that...I'm not all that good with languages but adding it together with what we know about him, I'm willing to bet that Karkaroff is going to have his head chewed off tonight for letting anyone else get in harm's way."

Neville and Harry hummed in agreement. They had only spoken to Krum on a few short occasions since the Yule ball but he had always talked about how worried he was that someone might be seriously hurt during the competition. They could hear Fleur ranting away in rapid French to a woman who looked like her mother and it wasn't difficult to guess she must have been saying something along the same lines as Krum.

The Judges were debating with Ludo Bagman, arguing over penalties and points. Dumbledore was relaying messages to and from the Mermen at the edge of the Lake, clearly trying to discern what had happened during the task.

In the end, Cedric was awarded first place, Fleur second, Viktor third and Harry was coming in last despite his spectacular performance with the dragon and being the fastest to rescue a hostage.

He had gotten hold of Viktor in the library that afternoon and apologised to him for messing everything up.

"It is not a problem, Harry. I vould haff been confused whoever was left behind. It is clear to everyone with eyes that Hermony is very special to you and your red haired friend is not as likable either. I think, even if you were talking to him, he vould not haff been a sensible choice."

Fleur, who was sitting in the library with a few of her friends, sheltering from the harsh Scottish weather, turned round and added her thoughts to the matter.

"I 'ave to agree. Ze whole set of them are a little hard to like…apart from ze twins. Perhaps zey get better as zey get older?"

Harry had initially thought of Percy but Neville beat him to it. The more time their housemate spent with them, the more confident he seemed to grow.

"I've only met his oldest brothers a couple of times cause of Gran...Charlie works with the dragons that were over for the first task but Bill was pretty awesome. He's a Curse Breaker with Gringotts...he speaks something like six different languages I think?"

Fleur's eyes lit up and she quietly excused herself from her friends to join them at their table.

"Zis is something zat your bank 'as? I was aware zat Gringotts 'ad some more interesting departments in other countries but I 'ave always been interested in curse breaking..."

The stories of Neville Longbottom chatting excitedly to a half-Veela would be the cause of much astonished laughter for several days and the cause of many more dropped jaws as Fleur gave him a friendly wave in passing.

Harry and Hermione were happy enough to just listen and fetch Neville books as he tried to explain some of the finer intricacies of the Goblin nation, having never heard anything more than what Binns had tried to teach them. Of course Hermione had put in some extra study but Neville's grandmother was apparently a stickler for good manners no matter who or what you were dealing with and was one of the foremost experts on Goblin custom in the country.

This was how Cedric had found them just before dinner when he slipped into the library to ask the other champions their opinions on what had transpired during the task.

"I know we're supposed to be in a competition and all but I was hoping to get your opinion on something."

Harry gestured for him to pull up a chair.

"Please tell me you were all as disgusted with the second task as I was?"

His questions was met with nods, Hermione was especially enthusiastic in her agreement.

"Given that we, or at least _I_ was never asked my permission and I can guarantee my parents wouldn't have been asked either otherwise they would have written."

Cedric hummed in agreement.

"Cho didn't know what was happening until we surfaced...Fleur, you said you had the same problem?"

Fleur nodded. They had all heard the rumours of how Madame Maxime got an earful from the champion's furious mother.

"What I am curious about is 'ow zis Ronald was deemed important enough to 'ave "is parents' permission sought on ze matter..."

A thought jumped into Harry's mind but it seemed like a shot in the dark.

"Cedric...what do Cho"s parents do?"

Cedrics brows knitted together in confusion for barely a moment before realisation dawned across his features.

"They"re both lawyers...and her mum's a muggle but her dad's from a squib branch of a...shit..."

Harry had to dodge Hermione's flying hands as she caught onto what they were suggesting.

"Oh that is _low_! Fleur...please don't take any offence but, according to British laws, both you and your mother are classed as half-breeds because of your Veela heritage. Myself and Cho are both Muggleborn, meaning that our magical guardians are the ones who look after our welfare in the Wizarding world. The only pureblood hostage was Ron...legally they _had_ to ask permission...but with us, Professor Dumbledore was able to sign off on it without us ever knowing and I would bet that, as foreign students, he has ended up with the same powers over you, despite your Headmistress being here with you."

Harry's hands were shaking as he took off his glasses and ran his hands through his hair, trying to put his thoughts in order.

"Professor Dumbledore could have gotten them all killed. This goes beyond a competition now...we can't let him get away with this...none of them can get away with it."

Cedric was chewing his lip whilst Krum looked less than surprised.

"I knew that things were just as bad here when it came to blood status but I did not think it vould be displayed so publicly."

Neville was the one with the answer.

"There's way too many loopholes for Purebloods but one bonus is that we have to know all of the laws backwards before we start school. My Gran is such a sucker for tradition that I bet she can find us something. She's also on the Board of Governors for the school so she could at least look into it...give me a week to owl her and see what she says?"

Hermione was beaming at him.

"If we're all agreed?" Her eyes scanned the room and met small nods of approval from everyone. "Good. We'll meet back here at six next week."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

As it turned out, Neville's solution just threw up so many more questions.

"She said I'm _what_!?"

Neville flinched at the volume of Harry's voice and Madame Pince shot him her dirtiest look from the front desk.

"Sorry...but a head of an Ancient and Noble House? Go and pull the other one Nev?"

Hermione was poring over the documents and family trees in the middle of the table the group had commandeered for their meeting with interest.

"He's right Harry. If this is to be believed then the Potter line stretches all the way back to Gryffindor himself...not to mention where all of the intermarrying got you...an argument could be made for Ravenclaw through her brother's line, look here, and you're even vaguely related to Slytherin through the Blacks...your grandmother, Dorea, was the great Aunt of...oh! Malfoy's mum!"

Thankfully, everyone assumed that Harry's shocked look was caused by the thought of being related to Malfoy. Hermione's pointed look, however, told him that she'd filed something important away for later.

"...If Neville really is right then we need to get in touch with the Goblins right away...they could be our only true solution to a rapidly growing problem. There's no way Dumbledore doesn't know about this so he's deliberately kept it from you."

Harry scoffed.

"He probably thinks I'm not 'ready' for the information...let's just look at this uh...hypothetically...for a minute. If I really am what you say I am then what can we do with it?"

Neville scanned the letter that Madame Longbottom had sent him along with the books and family trees.

"The Goblins would know all the technicalities but Gran says that you could at least demand an investigation into how the task was set up. I know it doesn't sound like much but there's every chance there's other things that they don't want discovered...like how the cup accepted your name? The DMLE have to respond to the heir of a pureblood house...never mind and Ancient and Noble one."

Hermione was furiously scribbling down questions onto a scrap of parchment.

"I think we need a look at the tournament rules...but we can't let the organisers know that's what we're doing or they'll try and block us at every turn. I say we start a petition to have the tournament investigated...keep them busy chasing that and placating every student we can send them so that we can try to sort out the legal side."

Cedric had kept his own council for most of the meeting, watching the by-play between his peers.

"I can handle the petition and stir up a fuss with the 'Puffs if Fleur or Viktor could take a look into the rules and the magical contract? If you can get me a rough copy then I can send it to the Changs? They're spitting mad at what happened to Cho but Dumbledore has been blocking every attempt at contact."

Hermione jotted names down beside tasks as the other champions agreed to their roles.

"Good then...if you can get that out as soon as possible then we'll start making some discreet enquiries to Gringotts."

Gringotts, as it turned out, did not do things by half and, in hindsight, Harry reasoned that he should have known something like this was coming.

Neville had helped him and Hermione draft a letter to the Goblins, asking for advice on a 'delicate matter' and they had replied within a day offering an interview for the next Hogsmeade weekend.

Harry had, on Hermione's suggestion, sent Sirius a quick note explaining that they might not be able to meet him this weekend and promising to explain once they got back. Harry felt guilty for cancelling on his Godfather when Sirius was risking so much to stay near him but Sirius would know that he'd never cancel unless it was for something important.

It wasn't until they were standing outside the small Hogsmeade branch of the bank that Harry began to get nervous. They had been informed that the door of the branch acted in a similar manner to the Floo system and they would step through into the headquarters in Diagon Alley.

"What if this is all useless?"

Hermione rolled her eyes at him, knowing full well that he was nervous about anything that was described as "somewhat like Floo travel" as opposed to their upcoming meeting.

"Then we can at least cross something off of our very full to-do list. Besides, the Goblins are some of the best lawyers in the world...if we build the right bridges here then we might be able to get them to look at the tournament contract if Cho's parents can't find anything. Now come on."

She didn't wait for him to reply, instead grabbing him by the elbow and pushing through the door before he could stall any more.

"There. That wasn't so bad."

Harry let out the breath he had been holding and had to agree with her. It had been nothing like Floo travel at all and much more like stepping through a particularly draughty door.

"How comes the Floo system can't be like that!? I mean it's as if Wizards actually _like _making themselves sick."

There was a deep, gravelly chuckle from a doorway to their left.

"Indeed, Mr Potter. Unfortunately, it would cost nothing short of a small fortune to hire the Runemaster to install the portal and those who _could_ afford it don't want to hire a Goblin. My name is Ragnok, I have just taken over the management of your accounts."

Hermione gave a small gasp before giving a small bow and elbowing Harry in the ribs to do the same. He was about to protest until he hear her accompanying words.

"Director Ragnok, it's an honour for you to meet us. I'm Hermione Granger...Harry asked me to come along."

Harry was damned glad that he had as well - Neville had gone over the finer points of etiquette when working with the Goblins and Harry was certain he had missed this bit.

"Thank you, Miss Granger. If you would both like to follow me to my office, we have rather a lot to talk about and I'm sure you would prefer your trip to go unnoticed."

They followed him through a corridor that had been hewn from solid, black rock and polished until it sparkled in the torchlight. It was a far cry from the white marble of the banks public face and, in some ways, it seemed far grander. The office they were ushered into was luxurious by any standards. Cut from the same black stone, it was furnished with a large oak desk and several empty picture frames. In the centre of the room, sitting atop a royal blue rug, were two black leather sofas. This is where the Director indicated they should sit.

"I feel I must preface this meeting with a sincere apology. Gringotts has known about your status for many years now but, legally, we were unable to do anything about it until you contacted us. As far as we are concerned, those terms have been met and accepted by the vaults in question. The first thing you must know is that your parents will was sealed on the first of November 1981. That seal has now been removed."

He waved his hand at the coffee table in between the two large sofas and a thin file appeared, bearing the Gringotts crest in one corner. Harry reached forwards and, as his fingers brushed the paper, the file sprung open to the first page.

"You may, of course, take this with you along with the other files you receive today so that you can study them at your leisure. However, due to our time constraints we will have to keep this meeting to the key points. You should never have been placed with your Aunt and Uncle - the will lists five other options for you. You have inherited everything, bar a trust fund that your parents set up for one Remus Lupin. However, as the will was sealed, this could not be released until today."

Harry looked up at Ragnok with a bright smile.

"Professor Lupin!?"

"Indeed. He was named in the will as your second guardian even though he would be unable to officially care for you due to his condition. As it stands, with your Godfather's incarceration, he is your current magical guardian."

Hermione let out a breath in understanding. When both Harry and Ragnok looked at her questioningly, she just shook her head, drawing her to-do list from her bag and scoring out a few items whilst adding more.

"Don't mind me...I'll add it all up at the end."

Ragnok took this as his cue to continue, he waved his hand at the table once more and another two, much thicker, folders appeared on the desk.

"The full inventory and accounts of House Potter and House Gryffindor. Whilst one is considered a continuation of the other, there are some items and holdings that must legally remain in the name of Gryffindor for traditions sake though you will still manage these under the title of Lord Potter. I understand there is a lot to take in but we are running short on time already. As you are competing in a tournament reserved for those of age, we have submitted emancipation paperwork on your behalf but this could take several weeks to be confirmed. The best option is for you to take all of this away and study it in your own time - I have included instructions on how to contact me directly via a secure line for when you have questions...is there anything else that we can help you with before you need to return?"

They arrived back in Hogsmeade in plenty of time and feeling slightly shell-shocked. Harry kept playing with the heavy silver ring that had appeared on his right hand as he skimmed the will that was now tucked safely in his bag. It was a simple silver signet ring, embossed with a lion rampant – a simplified version of the Potter crest.

His bag was also stuffed with a curious array of jewellery and brooches that each carried different protective enchantments, along with instructions for each. He had his parents wedding rings tied on a cord around his neck and tucked under his t-shirt. He knew it was silly and that it wasn't going to bring them back but there was a small part of him that felt closer to them than ever.

Hermione was letting him get his bearings before nudging him gently down the street.

"We've got to get all of this back to the castle and somewhere safe...is that..."

Harry followed her gaze down a small alley. At the far end, he could just about make out two eyes and a lot of black fur.

"Snuffles!"

Harry was off like a shot, squeezing down the alley and almost bowling the dog over. Hermione was about to reprimand him until she caught up with the excitable tangle of limbs at the end of the alley. Harry had thrown his arms around Padfoot's neck and was clinging on for dear life whilst Padfoot thumped his tail against the ground.

"Sorry Snuffles...it's been a long day...cave?"

It took a few minutes to get Harry back on his feet as they took the familiar route up to where Sirius had been hiding. Sirius was only human for a matter of seconds before he found himself with an armful of godson.

"As much as it's nice to see you two...what's going on? Where's Ron?"

They had agreed that they would tell Sirius as soon as they had the chance so, whilst Harry fumbled in his bag, Hermione tried to explain their meeting as best as she could.

"Ronald isn't speaking to us just now, I can't speak for Harry but he has more than burned his bridges with me..."

She tucked a stray hair behind her ear, settling carefully onto the stone floor.

"We've just been to Gringotts...found out a lot of very interesting and, honestly, very shocking things. They've released Harry's inheritance to him and they're working on getting him emancipated so we have more legal options for dealing with this fiasco of a tournament."

With a triumphant shout, Harry found to box he'd been looking for.

"I asked last minute about protection spells and Ragnok pulled this out of my vault. The instructions say this is like a super-powered disillusionment chart...it should keep you completely hidden if any aurors are around."

It was a very elegant silver band with runes carefully carved around the inside. Harry all but forced it into Sirius' hands and dove back into his bag to pull out his parent's will.

"And did you know that, after you, I was supposed to go to Professor Lupin, Neville's Parents, Professor McGonogall or even someone called Andromeda Tonks? But someone sealed the will and buried it in a box at the Ministry?"

Sirius, who was not ashamed to admit that his eyes were watering at the sight of Lily's neat, precise handwriting, alongside James' pureblood cursive, read over the will with a look of dawning realisation.

"I knew about Moony...we all knew he would never get full custody over you but it meant that he could still have a hand in your upbringing because he would always be your magical guardian..."

Hermione had swapped her parchment for a muggle notebook and was writing up a new list.

"That means Dumbledore would have needed to seek his permission for you to compete in the tournament and a minor. Even if the Goblins can't get you emancipated then it's still a good legal option for us...I can hardly see Professor Lupin willingly agreeing to it if he was asked."

Sirius looked up from the will.

"Whatever you two are up to, I wouldn't advise dragging the law into it if Moony's involved...not for another month or two at the least. He's managed to get himself a job running Pre-Hogwarts classes and, as much as I know it probably won't last, he could do without the media attention on his condition...what...why are you looking at me like that?"

Harry had a bright smile on his face as he handed Sirius the page that outlined the contents of the trust vault.

"My parents set this up for him. Ragnok said that, with the interest included, it's worth at least ten thousand Galleons, possibly more. There's a load of rare books as well...he'll get the letter once all of this goes public...he'll never have to worry about keeping a job again."

Sirius had to sit down at that.

"You...Ragnok? Merlin kid, you really don't do things by half."

The will was set aside for the remainder of their visit as Sirius regaled them with tales of Remus deftly trying to avoid being given money by Harry's parents.

Almost too soon, however, it was time to make the trip back up to the school. Padfoot accompanied them as far as the village and Harry's reluctance to leave his Godfather behind meant they were some of the last students to pass Filch's checkpoint.

"What's in the bag?"

Harry sighed and presented his bag for inspection. Wasting no time, Filch dove into it, pulling out Harry's carefully wrapped parcels and prodding at them suspiciously.

"What're these?"

Harry snatched one of the boxes from his hand and opened it to reveal a delicate bracelet, inlaid with tiny sapphires and diamonds.

"It's a bracelet, okay? I have loads of birthdays and I can't get anywhere over the summer to buy stuff for them. There's a couple of watches and a necklace as well."

Filch huffed and hummed as he dropped the backed back into Harry's bag.

"Can't see how a little whelk like you got hold of the money. Stole 'em did you?"

"Contrary to popular belief, I have a pretty impressive bank account. I'd just rather spend it on my friends than on myself."

It wasn't exactly a lie and Filch couldn't do much more than let them pass. Harry was just thankful Hermione had though to shrink all of the documents before tucking them into her jumper before leaving Sirius' cave.

Hermione, however, was shaking like a leaf by the time they reached the entrance hall and kept batting away all of Harry's questions until they had made it to the first floor. Harry had half though she was crying before he had spotted the bright smile she was fighting.

"I'm sorry Harry, I know it's silly but you would have never spoken to him like that a month ago. It's just nice seeing you so relaxed about what you have now."

"So, what you're really saying, is that all of this rule breaking has gone to your head and you've cracked?"

She pretended to huff as she straightened out her skirt and pushed off of the wall she had half collapsed against.

"You'll regret that, Potter. I've been working on some pretty interesting spells whilst we wait to see what the third task is and you had better hope I don't try some of them out on you."

All four champions had agreed that, just in case they were set against each other in the final task, they would research as many non-lethal ways of incapacitating each other as possible. Hermione, despite Harry's protests that it was his job, had told him to focus on their legal battle whilst she was in her element running riot in the library.

"I pity the witch or wizard that crosses you in the next few weeks...or ever, to be honest. Come on, I want to dump this stuff in my trunk before dinner. I don't trust Filch not to say something to Snape."

The trip up to the common room was uneventful and Harry left Hermione there with Neville as he continued to the dormitory. Cedric had suggested adding protective charms to his trunk, especially if he was worried about Ron, and Harry had gone one step further and bought a completely new one, complete with security charms he had never even heard of and built to look exactly like his old one. He carefully removed all of the boxes he had taken from his vault and piled them into one of the many locked compartments. Hermione still had the folders, they had agreed that it was one thing for Ron to find jewellery in Harry's trunk but the files themselves were far too sensitive and, as nosy as Hermione's dorm mates were, they wouldn't think anything of a few more sheets of paper.

Dinner was a quiet affair and the rest of the week passed largely without incident for the castle. Harry, however, was having a hard time focusing on his classes as his mind kept wandering to the folders they had collected from Gringotts. Harry was now the proud owner of six separate manor houses, of varying size, as well as a handful of smaller properties dotted around the globe. He had large, and very profitable, shares in some of the largest businesses in Diagon Alley after a particularly thrifty ancestor had offered massive start-up grants for a thirty percent return. As more and more investors had bought shares in the businesses, it looked like Harry had been left with a controlling share in half of the Alley. On top of that, he held three seats on the Wizengamot and was eligible to nominate anyone he chose to fill them until he was of age. How he was supposed to continue studying things like Divination when he knew he would be set for life was beyond him.

Ron, for his part, avoided Harry wherever he could and contented himself with sending scathing glares across the room whenever Harry spoke. Neville took to sitting with Harry in any classes they shared and, with the exception of potions, proved to be a lot more studious than anyone had given him credit for. Hermione tried her best to keep them both on track but, under Snape's nose, it wasn't the easiest of tasks.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

As March gave way to April and the Easter holidays approached, Harry finally snapped on the last Friday of term.

"Shouldn't they have sent a clue or something by now!?"

He had almost managed to forget the approaching third task until Cedric's petition finally made it off the ground and was intercepted in the Great Hall by a thoroughly livid Snape.

Hermione, who was engrossed in the newest issue of the Prophet, patted his arm lightly.

"Don't worry about it. We're prepared for almost every eventuality and we're meeting everyone tonight to see what they've managed to achieve."

They had received a discreet note from Krum, asking them to meet in the Library that night. It was the first solid breakthrough they'd had since Harry had returned from Gringotts. He was still receiving bi-weekly letters from the Goblins, keeping him up to date on how the emancipation case was going. They were trying to keep it as quiet as possible so progress was slow. Harry was reaching for the scrambled eggs when Hermione let out an indignant cry.

"That absolute _cow!"_

Looking over her shoulder, along with most of the students surrounding them, Harry found a torn page from _Witch Weekly_ slotted into her copy of the _Prophet_.

"Apparently, I'm secretly brewing love potions to keep you, Viktor and Cedric hanging off of my every word!"

Harry had barely scanned the article before he noticed a glaring flaw.

"Oh come on Hermione, anyone calling Parkinson "pretty and vivacious" is hardly capable of hard-hitting journalism."

Neville, however was chewing his lip nervously.

"It's not just the article, Harry. This article is as good as..."

They never got to find out what it was as good as because, at that moment, about thirty owls flooded into the hall, all of them heading straight for Hermione. Most of the letters contained hate mail, including a particularly nasty howler from Mrs Weasley, but one of them sprung open on contact, sending a wave of undiluted bubotuber pus over Hermione. Despite the painful, swelling boils on her hands she manage to stand slowly and make an attempt at a dignified exit as half the hall managed to catch a glimpse of the article.

Neville and harry exchanged a look before Neville handed Harry his bag.

"Go after her. I'll handle McGonagall."

Harry disentangled himself from the bench, almost tripping over his robes, and ran out of the hall as Professor McGonagall made her way across to the table. He waved his hand dismissively as she shouted on him but didn't stop until he had reached the hospital wing. Pushing the door open quietly, he spotted Hermione in the furthest corner. Madame Pomfrey was applying a thick, black cream to Hermione's hands before wrapping them in bandages.

"Madame Pomfrey?"

The healer looked up as he entered, looking as though she was about to admonish him before thinking again.

"Mr Potter. Can I assume you can tell me exactly what happened? Because I know for a fact the house elves are not in the habit of serving undiluted bubotuber pus at breakfast."

"There was an article in Witch Weekly..."

Madame Pomfrey huffed in derision.

"...and Hermione got a lot of hate mail from it...that's how the pus got on her hands...because people thought she was using love potions on me, Cedric and Krum."

Her eyes widened and Harry finally discovered why Neville was so nervous.

"Mr Potter, you realise that is tantamount to an accusation of rape? It is imperative that you inform Professor McGonagall of this immediately. If you would wait there for two moments I will fetch the other two gentlemen."

It was at that moment that the infirmary doors swung open and Professor McGonagall and Professor Sprout entered, followed by Neville, Cedric and Viktor.

"That's quite alright Poppy, we're all here. Mr Longbottom has apprised us of the situation and Professor Karkaroff is on his way. We all know that Miss Granger is hardly the type to resort to love potions but these are serious claims and we need to take action."

When Karkaroff arrived, it was in a whirlwind rage at the thought of a muggle-born girl clouding the mind of his prized student. Madame Pomfrey was the one to silence him with a loud cough and a sharp look as she ran her wand over each of the champions in turn.

"Mr Diggory has a mild painkiller in his system and nothing more, the other two are completely clear. If you're not happy with my assessment then we can always call the poisons ward at St Mungos but, frankly, that's just going to be a waste of their time."

Satisfied with the results, Professor Sprout took a signed letter from Madame Pomfrey away to Dumbledore so that it could be sent to the DMLE before any more came of the situation. Cedric managed to catch her just before she left.

"Professor Sprout! If you're going to the Headmaster then, on behalf of my fellow champions, I would like to present you with this petition...it's the one the Professor Snape has been trying to confiscate. We accept that we might not be able to stop the competition but we at least demand a full investigation of the events surrounding the selection of the Champions and the selection of the hostages in the second task."

Not bothering to hide her knowing smirk, Professor Sprout took the petition with a small nod and continued on her way. Karkaroff escorted Krum back to the Durmstrang ship for his morning lessons though the Bulgarian champion was reluctant to follow his headmaster. McGonagall, however, was not to be so easily deterred.

"Now. This has been a difficult morning already and I think it is safe to say that it is only going to get worse. Our first step is to ascertain whether any of you would like to press charges. It is important to note that it was not just Ms Skeeter involved but a number of your classmates and that this is no longer a simple case of libel. If you would like me to contact the DMLE I would be happy to do so."

Hermione started to shake her head but was cut off when Harry dropped a hand onto her shoulder.

"Professor...am I right in thinking that, even if Hermione _did_ press charges, she wouldn't really get anywhere because pretty much everyone involved in this is a pureblood?"

McGonogall was thrown off for a moment but quickly recovered herself.

"You're right, Mr Potter. Unfortunately..."

Harry couldn't stop himself from butting in.

"Sorry, but what would happen if _theoretically_ the charges came from the head of an Ancient and Noble House?"

McGonagall's eyes narrowed and she peered over her glasses at him. Neville's eyes were popping out of his head.

"Harry...that would mean going public before the Goblins were finished with the...the thing. The thing that they were..."

Neville wilted under McGonogall's gaze.

"I strongly advise one of you tells me exactly what is going on and exactly what you are suggesting."

The trio shared a glance before spilling everything they had discovered. They left out anything to do with the trip to Gringotts, instead telling her that everything had been communicated by letter.

By the time they were finished, McGonagall had conjured a chair and collapsed into it. Madame Pomfrey brought her a small whisky.

"This news could turn more than just the tournament on it's head. In the furore after your parents deaths I'm ashamed to say never even considered the title. Your father was never able to hold an official ceremony for _his_ ascension since they were already hiding by the time your grandparents passed away. This makes everything extremely complicated and I thank you for your honesty."

She paused, staring into the infirmary fire for a moment as she considered something.

"I think it best than neither of you attend classes today. I have already suggested the same to Mr Diggory. If so-called adults are willing to attack Miss Granger then I am not willing to test the resolve of some hormonal teenagers. I will still contact the DMLE on your behalf but it might be best to delay pressing charges until this is resolved. Am I right in assuming this petition is an attempt to distract from your real motives?"

The silence that met her question was the only answer she needed.

"Very well. I shall not mention this to the headmaster but if this endangers the wellbeing of any of my students at any point then I am duty-bound to inform him. I would also politely ask that you keep me informed of updates as they come in, any legal changes in status need to be reflected on your school records or it may invalidate exam results. Mr Longbottom, I understand that you may need to inform your Grandmother of what has occurred, I will give you until after break to compose a letter and then I expect you to be in class."

Neville watched Professor McGonagall leave with a look of bewilderment.

"Did she just let me off of History? _Yes!_"

Hermione, who had kept uncharacteristically quiet throughout the entire encounter, finally spoke up.

"I think she was more suggesting you write to your grandmother...who's on the school board...and has close ties to the government...and would benefit from knowing more than you've been able to tell her before. I mean, we really left her in the dark after asking about Harry's legal status."

Both of them could recognise that this was her way of trying to ignore what had happened and no one was willing to push her further. Instead they decided to head back to the common room to make a start on the first of many letters they would need to write.

The first was a three page letter to Madame Longbottom, written by all three of them, thanking her for her help and informing her of the events of the last month. The second was a short note to Gringotts to let them know that they needed to go public and that the emancipation needed to happen more or less immediately and the third letter was a brief note to Sirius, written after Neville had left for Charms.

_P, _

_HR attacked, all okay though. Please don't worry about anything you hear. Give you something to think about for next time - we need codenames._

_H_

Harry could only hope it was enough to get the message across without being obvious to anyone who might intercept it.

"He'll be okay, you know he won't do anything to get himself caught - not if it means losing you. Would you be able to get the bottle of Murtlap Essence and cotton wool from my bag...pour it into the glass of water and help me get out of these bandages, Madame Pomfrey said they could come off after an hour."

Harry carefully unwrapped the bandages on her hands to find that the thick black paste had all but vanished although the skin still looked angry and red. Following Hermione's instructions, he tore off balls of cotton wool, dipped them in the Murtlap Essence and gently soaked her hands. Almost on contact, her skin began to pale to its usual colour and Hermione visibly relaxed.

"That was agony. The pain I could deal with but it was so _itchy_."

Harry smirked as she flexed her hands, clearly glad to have full use of them.

"You know, most girls would have had a fit if that was them."

Hermione shrugged, starting to clean up the coffee table.

"Yes, well...most girls aren't used to it."

Harry paused in his attempts to help her, he was certain he'd heard her correctly but something didn't add up.

"You're _used_ to have Bubotuber Pus thrown at you?"

The look she sent him was one she usually reserved for people who asked stupid questions in class.

"Obviously. No, I'm used to people laughing at me, waiting for me to show a crack so they can weasel their way in and make fun of me. It's always been that way, people aren't always as nice as you, y'know."

Harry had guessed that she'd had something of a lonely childhood from little things she had said over the years but he had always assumed it was self-imposed.

"I'm sorry 'Mione...I never knew it was so bad for you..."

She shushed him with a roll of her eyes.

"Honestly, you're making it seem like I was beaten black and blue by a bunch of childhood delinquents. I'm a bossy know-it-all, being made fun of is an occupational hazard...and don't give me that look - I know how people see me, okay? It's not like I sit and wallow in self-pity, okay?"

Harry tried searching her eyes for any hint of hurt but faltered at the sheer, raw honesty he found instead. When Harry said nothing, she leaned over to him and took his hand.

"You don't need to save everyone, Harry. Some of us managed to get there on our own."

Harry was quite certain that time had stopped as he took in the sight of her - for all she was smiling, there were the last vestiges of long-dried tears in her eyes and yet she still seemed brighter than usual. Hermione, in her turn, found herself drowning in the worry behind Harry's gaze.

They sat like that for a moment until the spell was broken by two sixth year girls running down the dormitory stairs and out of the portrait hole. They paid no attention to the two friends sitting quietly in front of the fire.

"Go and grab your notebook. We can use today to sort through the questions in it."

Hermione let go of Harry's hand and left him on the couch to retrieve the notebook from under her bed.

**A/N: I've always been fascinated with how other authors have handled the whole "love potion" thing because I always saw it as a much more serious accusation that the people around me. As it stands, I'll probably try to explore different kinds of love potions later on in the story to sort-of clarify why everyone was so concerned over it. **

**I also wanted to avoid the age-old scenario of Harry and Hermione falling head-over-heels in love in the first chapter. I wanted to see if I could try for something a little more natural.**


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Good gods, I"m not much of a fan of long-winded authors notes but there were some excellent points and questions brought up in the reviews of the last chapter so I wanted to clear a few of them up before I got started. **

**1\. Neville leaving for Charms when they"d been given the day off: Harry and Hermione were given the whole day off because they were directly involved in the incident. Neville was given (with a hefty "wink wink nudge nudge") the morning off if he felt his grandmother would benefit from knowing what had happened. McGonagall said that she expected him back in class after break. **

**2\. Voldemort would have known if the Potters were related to Godric: That"s 100% true because Voldemort is a clever, if homicidal, cookie and I"m certainly not saying that he doesn"t know. However - for the purposes of **_**this**_** fic, the Potters are a historically powerful family in their own right and killing them would have likely turned the majority of Purebloods against his cause in the early days, even if the Potters were considered blood traitors. And besides, an AU is an AU for a reason. Things aren"t always going to match up to the canon.**

**3\. Harry and Hermione are progressing too slowly/"You were a teenager, right?": I was, in fact, a teenager very similar to Harry and Hermione. I also spend most of my week working with teenagers the ages of 11 and 18 (oh look, Hogwarts age!) and kids like Harry and Hermione aren"t always going to appreciate their ~real feelings~ properly until something more than a brief "moment" acts as a catalyst. Harry especially has grown up not **_**really**_** seeing how a healthy, loving relationship works so he"s far more likely to confuse romantic feelings with a platonic, sibling-like love until he"s in the right emotional frame of mind to see his feelings for what they really are. **

**4\. Has harry been charmed/poisoned by the Weasleys?: No, not yet. The subtle pressure has been there, behind the scenes, but there"s been absolutely no foul play from the Weasleys other than Ron having his head up his arse...so far.**

Chapter 5

'_Tournament_

_1\. Why did the cup accept Harry's name?_

_\- Entered under a fictional fourth School._

_2\. What are the consequences of breaking the magical contract?_

_3\. Why restart a deadly competition?_

_4\. What is the Third Task?_

_5\. What are our current legal options?_

_Harry_

_1\. Why was his will sealed and by who?_

_2\. If Prof. Lupin is his magical guardian, why wasn't he asked permission for Harry to compete?'_

Over the course of the afternoon, Harry and Hermione had managed to whittle the notebook full of questions and side notes into a short list of the most important points they needed answers for. When they met with Neville after dinner, he managed to answer one of their most pressing questions.

"The only person who can seal a will is a Chief Warlock of the Wizengamot and even then, they need _huge_ amounts of evidence to do it."

Hermione shared a knowing look with the pair as they hurried out of the Great hall and away from prying eyes and ears. No one had attempted to attack Hermione yet but she was drawing her fair share of scathing looks.

"Why does that not surprise me in the least? There has to be a good reason for it though, I know he probably won't tell us outright if we ask but it might be worth a try once it all goes public?"

Harry didn't make any attempt to hide his sigh.

"I wish it didn't have to go public. This whole thing just seems like one big joke from the universe right now."

If Harry was really honest with himself, he was becoming quite protective of his little secret. Whenever he heard someone talking about how they were looking forward to the summer holidays, a little bubble of happiness grew inside him. He was going to spend his summer picking out somewhere new to live and he had no intentions of telling the Dursleys. Having to drive all the way out to Kings Cross for no reason was hardly the punishment he felt they deserved but it satisfied a small piece of his soul and it would do for now.

Whenever he caught a moment alone, he pulled out the dream journal that Trelawney had given them the previous year. In it, he kept a detailed list of all the places he would be able to stay and the pros and cons of each. It had become his favourite thing to do at night when Ron's snoring kept him awake.

He was shaken from his daydream by Neville clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"It's not so bad...the political stuff is the worst of it and you can nominate a proxy to handle that until you're ready, even once you've been emancipated. That's technically what Gran does for me...though we're not quite as important as the Potters."

Their walk to the library was largely uneventful though Madame Pince had to be thoroughly convinced that they weren't trying to sneak food in. Viktor and Fleur were already waiting on them in a separate study room, Cedric had promised to join them once he had finished a Transfiguration essay.

Spread across the table between the other two champions was a greying paperback book with haggard-looking corners. Inside it were the rules of the Triwizard Tournament.

"Eet is impressive. I know."

Fleur's deadpan tone mimicked what the three new arrivals had been thinking.

"This is vhat took us so long. Ve haff spent all of this time looking for a giant tome full of ancient rules and, in the end, it vos nothing more than a small book tucked away in a corner."

Hermione was flicking through the book quickly and carefully whilst Viktor explained how it had taken them nearly two months to find such a meagre specimen.

"...Vhen the tournament vos started in the thirteenth century, it had a rule book that vos supposedly a meter thick. They cut out rules over the years that they decided did not apply anymore and now we are left with this."

Fleur directed Hermione to a page close to the start and tapped on one rule in particular.

"Eet says 'ere zat, although anyone who enters their name into ze goblet 'as bound themselves to the Tournament should zey be picked, eet is possible for ze judges to re-draw from any school within ze first twelve hours if there is a serious problem. Although all of ze judges must agree...our problem is zat we don't know if you being entered under a fourth school affects zis."

Hermione nodded in agreement.

"If Harry's name was accepted by confunding the Goblet in some way, if could have thrown off _hundreds_ of charms...the whole device is probably a wreck by now. If it was redrawn without the proper care there's a chance it could blow up in their faces...literally. If Dumbledore knew about those risks, he probably thought a re-draw was more dangerous than letting Harry compete."

That went some way to answering any questions they had about why nobody had tried to void the selection. Hermione was growing frustrated as she tried to find any mention of what would happen if they refused to compete.

"I mean, it's presumably something they agree on for each competition...maybe depending on the laws of each country? But surely there must be _something_."

Fleur shook her head sadly.

"Zere isn't even a paper copy of zis contract zat we 'ave supposedly entered into. Nothing zat we could send off to Cedric's lawyer friends."

Harry, however, wasn't going to be defeated.

"Okay...so the rule book is a dead end. We should probably still hold onto it until we know what the third task is though, just in case we find something useful. Cedric officially submitted the petition to Professor Sprout this morning and she's taken it away to Dumbledore. He wasn't at dinner so I can only guess he's got it, Neville sent a spare copy to his Gran just in case the original conveniently vanishes. That _should_ get us an investigation of the second task or at least a couple of answers..."

Hermione added a big tick beside the word "_Petition_" on her list.

"...After Hermione was sent all that hate mail, we told McGonagall everything. We now think we've got to deal with another criminal case on top of this tournament stuff so we're going to go public with what we learned from Madame Longbottom..."

Harry was interrupted by Cedric running through the door.

"Sorry I'm late! Dumbledore stopped me on my way here to say that the petition was wonderfully written and that he hoped it hadn't been too much of a distraction and he said that he had some interesting books on garden charms..."

Hermione groaned in defeat.

"He clearly knows that we're up to something. Did he wink at you? I knew it! Oh what I wouldn't _give_ to know how he does that."

The mood in their study room was decidedly glum as the reality of Dumbledore knowing settled onto them.

"He is just as famous outside of Britain. I vould not like to put gold on our chances of tricking him. Even if he does not know anything specific, he is far too good to outmanoeuvre."

Harry nodded along with the rest of them at Krum's words, staring blankly at a spot above Hermione's head.

"To hell with it. Why don't we just ask him? I know he doesn't have to tell us but..."

"What haff we really got to lose?"

Pinning down Albus Dumbledore was not an easy task. Despite almost always being in the school for meals, he seemed to disappear into thin air as soon as he was finished. Professor McGonagall had been as helpful as she could be but Dumbledore had a schedule to rival Hermione's from the previous year.

There was good news to be found, however, when Harry came down to breakfast on the first morning of the Easter holidays. Harry had found it nigh on impossible to sleep past dawn and had decided to saunter down to the Great Hall to see if he could catch Dumbledore before he left the castle. As he settled himself at an almost empty Gryffindor table, Hedwig swooped into the hall carrying a dark purple envelope with the Gringotts crest stamped into a seal that looked more solid silver than wax. With it was a smaller, plain parchment envelope with the words "_Open First_" written in a neat hand that Harry had come to recognise as belonging to Director Ragnok.

He tucked the purple letter into his robes, nudged his plateful of bacon towards Hedwig and tore eagerly into the letter.

_Mr Potter, _

_Further to my last letter regarding the progress of your emancipation, I am delighted to inform you that there has finally been a breakthrough. As of midnight tonight, you are officially an adult in the eyes of the law and I have included a list of things that you ought to be aware of immediately. _

_Even though we were able to approach this in a discreet manner, the information has been officially logged within the Ministry of Magic and it is only a matter of time before it becomes public knowledge - you would do well to prepare yourself for the backlash it will cause. _

_You will be expected to host an official ascension ceremony within the Wizengamot to fully assume your seats and to allow you to nominate proxies to fill those seats should you wish. This will take several months to coordinate and will likely take place sometime in early August. Please be aware that some parties may attempt to block your ascension, we will deal with these threats through Gringotts unless they affect you directly. _

_If it is at all possible, I would like to arrange a meeting for a week before the final task, we are currently putting together a full inventory of your family vaults and have found a few pieces of interest. Miss Granger is, of course, welcome to attend any and all meetings we arrange. _

_One final warning, your second letter is deceptively small - it contains your official emancipation letter, as well as a great many important documents. Think of it as your "Lords Manual" if you will._

_If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to ask._

_Best of luck, _

_Director Ragnok_

Harry folded the letter carefully after separating the emancipation papers and smoothing them out onto the table. He resolved to open the other one at a later time - the last thing he needed was to be engrossed in a letter and to have Dumbledore pass him by.

He dropped a few more pieces of bacon onto his plate for Hedwig before stealing the plate that was set out to his left and piling up on food to compensate for what he guessed was going to be a long day. Chewing carefully, he scanned through the list the Ragnok had sent.

He was officially an adult - that much was easy. He could do magic outside of school, so long as it was within the law, and live wherever he wanted. He was allowed to buy in alcohol if he was hosting a formal party but he still had to wait until he was seventeen to buy it for personal use and he was still obliged to continue his schooling until at least OWL level thought he could chose to hire private tutors if it suited his needs better.

The really interesting part was when it can down to his legal rights. According to this list, he could demand an investigation into any criminal case, old or new, so long as it was deemed personally relevant to him or a ward under his protection. Despite all of their work on having the Tournament investigated, Harry's mind went directly to a scruffy dog lying in a cold cave.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Remus Lupin had been enjoying a leisurely breakfast, trying his best to ignore the growing aches in his bones from the pull of the nearing full moon, when a Gringotts owl soared through his window to present him with a plain letter from the bank.

With shaking hands, he untied the letter and thanked the owl, before returning to his tea as he scanned the page.

_Mr Lupin,_

_My client has asked that I send you this letter so that you, as he worded it, do not "collapse and die from the shock"_ _when the official mail reaches you._

_Allow me to first extend my sincere apologies on behalf of Gringotts. It is highly unusual for a case such as this to go over a decade without being properly resolved but it was only recent events that have allowed us to fully process this account. _

_Upon the death of James and Lily Potter, and the subsequent incarceration of Sirius Black, the Magical Guardianship of one Harry James Potter fell to you as per the will of Lord and Lady Potter. Unfortunately, this will has been sealed since the 1st of November 1981 and this fact was not discovered until early this year when the current Lord Potter ascended to his title._

_The entry of Lord Potter into a competition reserved for those of age, whilst still under your official guardianship and without your knowledge or permission, has prompted my client to force through an emancipation order. Should you feel it necessary, you have a legal window of four weeks to appeal this order, if you accept it then no action is required._

_Furthermore, the late Lord and Lady Potter bequeathed to you a small trust vault and a great number of books which may now be released to you. Your statement will arrive shortly, once we have finished calculating the final value._

_May fortune find you, _

_Sincerely,_

_Director Ragnok,_

_Potter Account Manager_

As Remus was a dignified soul, he managed to stop himself from spraying tea across the table. However, he was also a Marauder at heart and couldn't quite stop the string of curses that filtered out of his mouth as things clicked into place.

It was almost impossible to have magical guardianship over someone and not know it. Even if Dumbledore, and he very much knew it was Dumbledore's doing, had sealed the will, his magic should have recognized his position after the several hours he spent on the train with Harry the previous year.

With everything that the headmaster had done for him over the years, Remus had always tried to look past the small manipulations that he knew Dumbledore was prone to in order to try and see the bigger picture. It had been Dumbledore who had ordered Remus not to look for Harry when he was a baby, not even allowing him to check on those thrice damned relatives from a distance. Dumbledore had sworn blind that the wards around the property wouldn't recognize Remus as a friend, only seeing the werewolf as a threat.

Rage bubbled up inside Remus and he stood up, knocking his chair flying, summoned his careworn cloak from the front door and turned sharply on his heel, vanishing noisily from the small kitchen.

Only being able to apparate to the gates of the castle was simultaneously a blessing and a curse. The long storm up the drive only allowed his anger to fester, though it did allow him time to filter some of the less school-friendly hexes from his mind.

The entrance hall was quiet when he reached it, even though it was nearing lunch time. There were no students to be seen but his sensitive nose managed to pick up the faint smell of humans. He strode confidently across the hall, slipping behind a tapestry and through a gap than would have done him serious damage if he had been in the habit of eating a little more. A long, narrow flight of stairs and another precarious gap later and he found himself standing a few short feet from the gargoyle that guarded the Headmasters office.

That was where he almost faltered. Dumbledore was a busy man and there was no guarantee he was in any position to receive visitors, if he was in at all.

Another voice piped up at the back of his mind, reminding him that they wouldn't be in this mess if Dumbledore didn't keep himself so busy organizing other people's lives.

Steeling himself, Remus marched up to the gargoyle with his mind set.

"I need to speak with the Headmaster."

"Password."

"If you would just inform him that I'm waiting."

"Password."

"It's really very important."

"Password."

"Look, I'm trying to be polite but..."

"Password."

"Listen to me you inert lump of rock. You can either let me past or I will tear you from that plinth with my bear hands."

He was speaking in a deadly whisper, almost hissing at the gargoyle by the time he registered there was somebody standing behind him.

"Good heavens Remus, do you really need to be so harsh to the poor beast?"

Remus flushed a deep scarlet as Professor McGonagall arched an eyebrow at him.

"Afternoon Minerva...I...well...there is a perfectly reasonable explanation for this."

He was reminded, rather embarrassingly, of his school days.

"I'm certain there is, I take it that Albus has been a nuisance again?"

That was Minerva - as loyal as they came but completely aware of Dumbledore's bad habits. Remus handed her the letter, not quite sure if he would be able to tell her about it and keep calm.

"Ah. Well you're in luck - he should be back just after lunch. Why don't you join me at the staff table, there's rather a lot you've missed this year."

When Harry, Hermione and Neville sauntered in for lunch, they scanned the staff table for any sign of Dumbledore and instead found Lupin chatting amiably with McGonagall. Harry swore quietly, with all the frenzy around the tournament, he had completely forgotten to write to Remus.

"Professor!"

Remus smiled brightly at the approaching trio, a lot of his anger ebbing away as he waited on Dumbledore.

"It's just Remus now, Harry...or should that be My Lord?"

The look he leveled at Harry was stern, but certainly not unkind.

"Sorry...I meant to write, honestly, but we've been a little busy trying to destabilize a Ministry competition."

Remus' eyes widened of a fraction of a second. If it wasn't for the sheepish grin and the bright green eyes staring up at him, he would have sworn he was talking to James.

"You are terrifyingly like your father when you say things like that...and it's quite alright. If I'd known, you would never have ended up with those miserable relatives of yours. That's why I'm here, I"d like a few answers from our esteemed Chief Warlock."

Hermione looked delighted, passing Remus the small notebook that contained all of their questions.

"Fantastic! Do you maybe think you could find out anything he knows about this? It's all above board, Professor McGonagall...but it saves us trying to pin the Headmaster down as well when he's clearly so very busy."

Minerva suppressed a smile as Remus" eyebrows vanished into his hairline upon reading the questions that the trio wanted answers for.

"They've been rather busy since February...and they haven't allowed their classwork to slip an inch. Mr Longbottom here is improving at some rate. If I recall correctly, it took young Frank until his OWLS to really come into his own."

Seeing the change in subject for what it was, Remus smiled and nodded as Neville turned an impressive shade of red.

"Yes...it took him a while to get there but once he did...Frank Longbottom was formidable, just like his mother. Never quite caught up to Alice though, I once saw her put a hole through three houses with one hex after Death Eaters interrupted her wedding dress fitting."

Neville was blinking up at them.

"R-really? Gran never told me that..."

Harry and Hermione glanced at each other, both realizing that they had never even bothered to ask what had happened to Neville"s parents. Neville looked like he wanted to cry, despite the nervous smile on his face. Remus allowed himself a small bark of laughter.

"Then I better not tell you about the time your grandmother chased a terrified group of fifth years through Diagon Alley, in the early seventies, brandishing what I believe was a small sword."

For McGonagall, the smile on Neville's face alone made Remus' trip worthwhile but, sensing a barrage of questions in their near future, dismissed the trio.

"Mr Potter, I do believe I overheard mention of a top secret meeting out on the Quidditch pitch. It would be a crying shame if it was interrupted."

Harry was about to question her when Hermione grabbed his arm and dragged him away, Neville bade them farewell and ran to catch the pair up.

"Are you allowed to do that?"

Minerva gave an imperceptible shrug.

"Those two will be off to find the other three champions before they do anything else. And besides, they've not started growing the hedges yet...they'll get bored of waiting and I'm certain young Harry and Mr Krum will find something to do with an empty Quidditch pitch. Ah! What fortuitous timing. I rather believe that Albus just passed by the doors."

The ensuing shouting match quickly became the stuff of Hogwarts legend. Whilst most could only guess at what their mild-mannered ex-Defense professor was tearing strips off of Dumbledore over, Harry sat in the common room that night with a smug look on his face.

"It just feels like having a huge weight lifted off my shoulders...and it's not just the emancipation…I mean...have you ever seen Lupin so angry?"

Hermione nodded in agreement as she checked over the final draft of her potions essay. She was half-curled on the floor at his feet, basking in the warmth of the fire.

"I know what you mean, there was no way we would have been able to ask Dumbledore half of those questions...although I'm not really convinced that their sole motivation for this tournament was to foster a spirit of friendship between us and the other two schools."

"They got it though...I don't think I'll be able to walk away from this without seeing Fleur and Krum as friends, especially if Fleur goes for that Gringotts apprenticeship when she finishes...what worries me is that even Dumbledore doesn't know what happens if we break the contract. If it was losing your life or your magic, like you thought, then there's more sense in telling us that hiding it."

Hermione hummed, placing the essay to one side and stretching out, he back cracking as she arched towards the fire.

"Yes, I was thinking about that. A lot of magical contracts carry those kinds of penalties but it would cause an absolute uproar if a pureblood heir lost their life or their magic because of it. I was thinking that...maybe the contract _forces_ you to compete. Sort of a "come hell or high water" thing..."

"Which we've already covered in the first two tasks alone..."

She smiled.

"...which, yes, you seem to have encountered early on...but do you understand? I think that, even if you went all the way back to London, the inherent magic from the Goblet would find a way to force you to compete."

Harry thought about this for a moment.

"I haven't been seriously injured this year. At all...and remember earlier? The bludgers wouldn't come near anyone but you or Neville. You think the tournament is protecting us?"

Hermione cleared her homework into her bag and settled herself on the large armchair, tucking herself into the far corner. Harry was certain the chairs must have been designed for someone at least twice the size of Hagrid if it was possible to comfortably fit two fourth years into them.

"Less protecting you...I think it's more ensuring you're able to compete and I _still_ can't believe you talked me into that..._me? Flying?_ I could hardly open my eyes! Who plays catch with bludgers!?"

She had been marvelous, Harry thought. She may have white-knuckled her way through the entire game, had almost unseated herself after accidentally scoring a goal and promptly left to be sick once they had landed but, for a girl who had never flown anything other than a Hippogriff, she had been wonderful.

"Oh c'mon! You won us that game! You were brilliant."

She butted his shoulder with her head, cheeks tinted with a light blush.

"Don't be silly. It was a perfectly enjoyable day but I don't think I'll be going anywhere near that Firebolt of yours. That school broom was fast enough."

He hated to tell her that Ron's old Shooting Star was probably faster. Regardless, the memory was one he would cherish for a long time - even if there was a twinge of sadness when he had seen Ron storm away from the changing rooms, broom in hand.

"Yeah well, I bet I could get you up on a broom over the summer...somewhere safe...maybe even sandy? Like Hawaii?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him, her eyes flicking to his book full of pros and cons that was sitting on the coffee table in front of them.

"What are you trying to say?"

"I was thinking that, if I manage to survive this year, we could try and organise a small group holiday somewhere. Me, you, your parents, Neville and his gran...all of the properties abroad are exempt from the restriction to underage magic if it doesn't breach the Statute of Secrecy...your parents would get to see you perform magic..."

Hermione's mouth formed into a small "o" of understanding as he explained it.

"And Snuffles would be able to come so long as no one gave him up to the Ministry! That would be wonderful Harry! Have you decided where you're going to go once you get off the train?"

He gestured for her to pass his notebook, flicking through it until he found the right page.

"I thought I would go to this one first seeing as it's in the middle of London. It's not far from Diagon Alley...the goblins are going to come over and put it under the Fidelus charm for me so that it's a bit more secure. I thought I'd use it as my base of operations for the summer."

"1 Palace Green? Merlin Harry, you'd be living on the most expensive street in Britain!"

Harry, face flushed, that was his problem.

"Yeah, that's where I was wondering if I could ask a huge favour...'cause no one's lived there for so long, the Floo was disconnected and there's an anti-portkey ward up along the whole street so I need to go in the muggle way and there's police checkpoints to get in... Gringotts aren't sure if I'll be able to just walk in and, I was wondering, if you and your parents would mind coming with me? I don't really want to confund anyone and bring the Aurors down on me."

"I don't think they'd mind...they've been asking about my friends every time I write to them. They'd be delighted to meet you properly at the very least...I'll ask them next week. How are you getting on with the spells I gave you?"

As Harry began describing the trouble he was facing with some of the more complicated charms Hermione had found, he felt her leaning into his shoulder. They fell asleep, propped up against each other, in the early hours of the morning.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

April drifted quietly into May and Harry liked to think that, despite the threat of the third task hanging over his head, he was settling into his new routine quite nicely.

He would wake up early with Neville and go down to meet Hermione in the common room. The three of them would spend one day researching in the library until breakfast and another in an empty classroom practicing the spells they had chosen. Not only was he becoming more confident that he could face anything the tournament threw at him, he was breezing ahead in most of his classes. The only class he could claim to be failing miserably was Divination and that was largely due to the fact that he spent most of the double period catching up on his sleep.

That peace, however, was broken in the last Divination lesson of the month when Harry went from dozing peacefully in his chair to writhing in agony on the ground as his scar, which had been burning away at a slow and easy to ignore pace since the holidays, burst into excruciating pain.

When he was shaken awake by Professor Trelawney, it took him a moment to get his bearings and her overpowering perfume left him wishing he could return to the vision of Voldemort torturing Wormtail.

He batted Trelawney away and excused himself to the Hospital Wing, hoping that Madam Pomfrey would be able to find him something to stop the world from spinning. He took the long way down, trying to stop his hands from shaking, and almost tripped over a pedestal as he glanced out of the windows into the early summer sunshine.

Righting himself, he turned to swear at the gargoyle he had tripped over and found that his absent-minded wandering had carried him to the Headmasters door. After Remus' thorough ear bashing, Dumbledore had barely been seen in the castle and it was a poorly contained secret that the staff were less than happy with his disappearance.

If he strained his ears, he could almost make out raised voices drifting down the stairs. Dumbledore might have been behind the manipulations that saw Harry dumped unceremoniously with his Aunt and Uncle but he was still the foremost expert on Voldemort in the world.

Frankly, he was the _only_ expert on Voldemort in the world and he was the only person Harry could think of that might have a chance of understanding what was happening to him.

It took him less than five minutes to guess the password and he narrowed his eyes disbelievingly at the gargoyle when it jumped aside at the mention of "Mars Bars" before climbing up the narrow stair case.

He was hard pressed to catch more than the occasional word from through the thick wooden door but he was able to make out the voices of Dumbledore and Fudge shouting the odds at each other over something. Harry thought back to the rumours that had been circulating at breakfast of a body being found on the grounds and was just about to raise his hand to knock when another voice cut through the shouting.

"Headmaster! It would seem Mr Potter would like a word with you, shall I show the Minister here down to the forest?"

Dumbledore must have agreed because a few moments later, Professor Moody had pulled open the door and was showing Fudge out.

"Harry, my boy! What can I do to help? I wasn't aware that there were any free periods for fourth years today."

Harry shuffled into the room, avoiding the pointed look being directed at him over the headmaster's glasses.

"There aren't...I was in Divination and...I was going to go to Madame Pomfrey but I thought you might know a little more...I collapsed, you see...and I _thin_kI had a vision about Voldemort."

When Dumbledore flinched at the name, Harry looked up and was surprised to find him looking distinctly ill.

"...it wasn't just a dream, was it? That's why my scar hurts whenever he's around...there's a connection between us, isn't there?"

Dumbledore nodded gravely, busying himself with packing away a sturdy-looking stone bowl into a cupboard.

"I had feared as much..."

Harry dropped his bag on the floor and collapsed into one of the chairs opposite the desk.

"So not only did you leave me with the worst humans you could have found, you missed out the vital piece of information where I have a direct line to _the man who's trying to kill me!_"

"Harry I..."

"No way. I'm not finished. I would have been safer if you'd left me with the Malfoys! Then you shut down my parents will, leaving me with no idea who I was! I could have had a proper family this whole time!"

Harry was just about working up a good head of steam when there was a light knock on the door, throwing him off.

"Hermione was right, you're hiding something...I'm sorry I bothered you _sir_."

He barely registered that he was pushing past the Minister when he left.

If Dumbledore was at one end of the scale where helpfulness was concerned, McGonagall was his polar opposite. It had taken her much longer than she had anticipated thanks to Lucius Malfoy blocking all of her attempts to contact the DMLE but she had finally managed to arrange for Amelia Bones to stop by the school under the pretence of collecting information about the so-called disappearance of Barty Crouch Snr.

She sat patiently in Professor McGonagall"s office, watching from the window as a small, haphazard-looking group made its way towards the Quidditch pitch.

Harry had to break out into a steady jog to keep pace with Bagman and the other champions as they made their way across the grounds. They were heading out towards the stadium where Harry could just about make out people running around the pitch, looking busy.

As they got closer, he was able to pick out low, long hedges criss-crossing over the once immaculate grass. Just imagining the fit that Oliver Wood would be having come time for the Third Task brought a smile to Harry's face. Viktor and Cedric seemed to be thinking along the same lines as they exchanged a pained look over the state of the pitch.

"Oh this isn't going to be good..."

**Note: Barty Crouch Snr is dead by this point, as in canon. The reason that Harry had only heard rumours is down to the fact that Krum had no reason to ask for a private word with him as they are really becoming good friends by this point. Running by the calendar on the HP Lexicon (which I like to use to keep myself on a sensible track), I've pushed back the explanation of the third task by about a week. **

**My main reasons for this are that my Harry is a lot more aware of the world around him and, had he and Krum encountered Crouch in the forest, he would have been more determined to bring him to Dumbledore personally, thus revealing Voldemort's plot far too early. **

**Another thing I think is worth noting is that Harry is pretty clearly not willing to listen to Dumbledore's reasoning at this point in time kind of like oh, I don't know, every single 14 year old I know. Dumbledore has fucked up, yes, but Harry's not some flawless golden boy with knowledge beyond his age either and let's face it – it's a pretty stressful year for him. I'm hoping to be done and dusted with 4th year by Chapter 10 anyway so I can move onto some more interesting things. **


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"Lord Potter, I'm sorry to catch you at such a late hour but I think this meeting has been delayed long enough."

Madame Bones was, as far as Harry was concerned, nothing short of terrifying. Her iron-grey hair was cut short and left un-styled and her plain black robes gave little about her away. When Harry had first entered the room she had stood calmly and held out her hand, introducing herself.

Harry was thrown off until Professor McGonagall offered him a cup of tea and a biscuit. Accepting the cup from her with a small smile, he thought about what Hermione or Sirius would tell him to do in a situation like this, standing as straight as he could and making every attempt to rid himself of any nerves.

"Thank you so much for coming all the way out here...I don't know how much the professor had told you..."

Her smile was cold but not unkind.

"Minerva has appraised me of the details of the case, what I'm looking for from you is your opinion and to know how you would like to proceed in an ideal world."

Harry thought for a moment, trying to weigh all of his options and gather his thoughts.

"Well...I'm not really sure what _can_ be done. Hermione's hate mail wasn't exactly signed and most of the people who started it are protected by their parents or the Ministry...I know Malfoy was probably involved, he can't avoid an opportunity to have a go at me or Hermione, but neither of us are sure what good it would do to take them to court."

Madame Bones was scribbling furiously on her notepad.

"You're right, of course. It is no secret that the elder Mr Malfoy has the ear of the minister and would go out of his way to save his son and, by association, his friends. Charging _The Prophet_ with libel is the easiest option for you with the least potential for a troublesome backlash."

Harry nodded along with her.

"What I would like to do, however, is open an investigation into the claims. I will bring in my Aurors on the day of the final task and conduct discreet interviews with everyone bar the champions and Miss Granger. Having their statements on file would allow us to look into this and any subsequent incidents at a later date..."

"And because you collected the information more-or-less at the time, it would still stand up in court!"

It was an excellent plan as far as Harry could see. It let him and Hermione focus on preparing for the final task and gave them a weapon against Malfoy and his gang of Slytherins should they try something else. Slapping the _Daily Prophet_ in the face was just an added bonus.

"Exactly. However, it _is_ late and I don't think it would do us any harm to put off the initial interviews until Saturday. I will send an official letter to all of you by breakfast tomorrow. Good evening, Lord Potter."

"Madame Bones."

The interviews were a novel experience to Harry. They all met in a small ante-chamber off of the Entrance Hall just before lunch where Madame Bones and two Aurors, one with eye-wateringly bright pink hair and another dark-skinned and bald with a golden earing, explained to them that they would be asking a standardised list of questions before asking them to sign a form stating that they understood what was about to happen and that they would answer each of the questions to the best of their ability.

Hermione hesitated for a moment, something that was not lost on Auror Shacklebolt, the man with the earring.

"Don't worry about being underage, Miss Granger, as you're not the one being investigated here we don't need your parents' permission for this, only your own consent."

His voice was deep and calming and Hermione only nodded before adding her signature beneath Harry's.

Madame Bones then rolled up the form and ushered everyone but Hermione from the room so they could begin.

Standing in the Entrance Hall with Cedric and Viktor drew each of them a lot of attention from passing students as they made their way down to the Great Hall early. Professor Sprout even paused to chat with them for a good ten minutes before running off to change out of her muddy overalls. Filch was along behind her soon after, glaring at the three boys as if they were to blame for the mud that had been tracked across the floor.

After Hermione left the room a half hour later, taking a deep breath to calm herself, Cedric and Viktor only took fifteen minutes and Harry only spent five in the stuffy little chamber. They read out Hermione's statement, asked him if there was anything he would like to add and if he would be willing to stand before the Wizengamot to testify should the case come to court.

When they were finally released for lunch, Hermione looked a million time lighter than she had since the Bubotuber pus incident.

"I can't _wait_ for summer!"

Lavender Brown, who was sitting opposite them, almost choked on her road parsnips at Hermione"s unexpected outburst.

"Are you feeling okay, Hermione? I thought you loved school!?"

Hermione's smile was bright as she poured her dorm mate a glass of pumpkin juice and handed it over to her.

"Of course I do, but you have to admit that this year hasn't been the best."

Harry tuned out the rest of their conversation, staring off into the distance and hoping, rather desperately, that it wasn't going to get any worse.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Hermione was frozen to the edge of her seat as Harry vanished into the maze. Her nails had already been chewed down to messy, painful stubs and she jumped every time someone so much as sneezed near her.

What if he was hurt?

What if he couldn't get to his wand to send up the red sparks?

What if he couldn't send up the sparks because he was dead?

Images of Hagrid, who had told them all he was tasked with rescuing the champions if they got into too much trouble, carrying Harry's limp body from the maze invaded her mind despite her best efforts to push them away.

Neville was sitting beside her, head lolling onto her shoulder as he dozed fitfully. Hermione wished she could succumb to her need for sleep so easily – they had been up until sunrise helping Harry prepare and she was certain she had well and truly botched her History exam because of it.

Harry was more important though.

She thought back to his quick defence of her when the Weasley's had shown up to support him and smiled.

She was pulled from her thoughts at the sound of a faint scream as red sparks flew up from the maze. Neville jolted awake as Hermione shot out of her seat.

Seeing the flash of blonde hair being moved to the medical tent brought her so much relief that she forgot for a moment that Fleur was her friend as well.

It couldn't have been more than a few hours but the time crawled by until there was a flash of movement and two bodies, one in red and one in yellow, were dumped unceremoniously onto the grass at the entrance to the maze. The sudden roar of the crowd died down when it became apparent that something was terribly wrong.

Hermione managed to make it to the front of the stands before the teachers began to close in on them. Harry was clinging desperately to Cedric but she couldn't see what he was saying. When Amos Diggory collapsed to his knees, a chill settled in her stomach as she realised what had happened.

Cedric Diggory was dead.

The shock of seeing him lying there, cold and still in the pale light made her miss Harry being led away by Professor Moody.

In the midst of calming the students Dumbledore paused, his eyes lighting up with a sort of manic realisation before he spun on his heel and marched off towards the castle.

Harry was alive, he was alive and she was going to see him again. She might have just lost a friend, but Harry…

She stopped.

Harry was more than just a friend. Since their adventure with the time turner, she had seen him grow into quite the amazing person and their last meeting with Ragnok had only cemented that fact in her mind. Amidst other ancient and, in a few cases, incredibly dark objects the Goblins had discovered a priceless collection of books in one of his ancestors vaults and, if the ledgers were anything to go by, it looked as if they may have come from the original Hogwarts library.

He had simply asked that they be sent to Remus, who was somewhat at a loss as to what to do with his time, and had been protesting the amount of money left to him by Harry"s parents.

"He"ll shut up about the money if he thinks he's earned it...and Snuffles told me he was a lot like you with books."

Hermione had almost lamented not getting to see them first but, remembering the poisonous tome they had been told about that had killed three goblins, she decided against saying anything. Remus would be in a far better position to deal with it.

The students were being ushered back towards the castle and Neville had to deliberately trod on the hem of Snape"s cloak and push her towards the Hospital Wing so she would stop tugging at the frayed stitching of her jumper.

As she approached the door she could hear raised voices and hesitated for a moment before taking a deep breath and channelling her late grandmother.

Pushing open the heavy oak door with as much strength as she could muster, she strode into the Hospital as if she had every reason to be there. She nearly faltered as she came face-to-face with the Minister for Magic and the Headmaster but braced herself when she seen the stern look that Madame Pomfrey was directing at them.

"Honestly! This is a hospital wing, _not_ a courtroom. Minister, Headmaster…if you don"t lower your voices this instant I shall have to ask you to leave… Miss Granger, do you have any intention of shouting at my patient?"

Hermione shook her head.

"Running at him? Jumping on him? Otherwise aggravating his injuries in a way I would disapprove of?"

Again, she shook her head.

"Very well. You may stay. He may not be very communicative but I daresay he will need a friendly face."

Harry was in a terrible state. There was a long, deep gash on his arm that had been covered in a bright orange paste and he was staring right through the two men who had been arguing over him, as if they weren't really there.

Hermione settled herself quietly on the edge of his bed, placing her hand over his and satisfying herself when he blinked slowly and turned to look at her.

"Mione?"

His voice was raspy, like the very thought of speaking was painful.

"Don"t try to speak Harry. Just try and relax a little. Madame Pomfrey will fix you up soon enough."

Whilst the physical marks of his ordeal, whatever it had been, could be healed with a flick of a wand, Hermione knew that things had to have been bad for Harry to be so still.

"Moody…Voldem…"

Fudge whirled round on his heel, bringing his hands down on the end of Harry"s bed with enough force to shake Hermione right off of her precarious perch.

"_He is not back!_ Enough with the lies boy!"

Even Dumbledore shouted this time, bodily pulling the Minister away from Harry who, at the sound of the raised voices, had flinched and clammed up again. His eyes were screwed shut tightly and Hermione wondered if that's how he had looked before he had known Hogwarts.

The image of little Harry, barely five years old, curled up in the ratty bedroom the twins had told her about invaded her mind and, try as she might, she couldn't shake it off.

For the second time that night, her blood froze in her veins as the pieces fell together of their own accord. She bit her tongue, however, as a fresh argument erupted between the two most powerful wizards in the country.

Madame Pomfrey was so busy trying to break in between them and usher them from the room that she paid no attention to Hermione quietly and carefully crawling onto the bed and wrapping her arms around Harry's stiff frame, her chin resting on his shoulder.

"It's You-Know-Who, isn't it? He's back?"

She was all but whispering in his ear, not even sure if she was looking for an answer at all but the minute nod steeled her resolve. She was not going to stand by and put up with this.

Fudge was becoming incoherent, talking about treason and trials and Azkaban and something in Hermione snapped.

"How _dare _you! Whether you believe him or not _Minister _Harry has just seen one of his friends die! And you stand there as if he's a criminal! Beyond that, he is the head of an Ancient and Noble House and whilst you might have forgotten what that means I assure you it is very much fresh in my mind and you have no reason to still be here!"

Madame Pomfrey was staring at her as if she had two heads before seizing the opportunity to usher the silenced men from the room, barring the door behind them.


	10. Chapter 10

10.

It was a topsy-turvy kind of week.

Harry was released from the Hospital Wing as soon as he had calmed down enough for Madame Pomfrey to heal the last of his wounds and on the condition that he would stop by every evening before curfew so she could check up on him.

Privately, she asked Hermione to write to her if he should deteriorate over the summer.

Harry staunchly refused to openly mope and even the Slytherins let him be in the short time between the third task and the leaving feast. Hermione didn't pester him to come down to the Great Hall when she knew it would be busy, instead bringing him back what she could.

She had initially thought about skipping meals with him but she could see he just desperately wanted to be alone to do whatever it was he needed to do and she wasn't about to crowd him when he seemed to be making so much progress the rest of the time.

She wrote to her parents, explaining a little of what had happened, and they wrote back telling her that they would meet outside the Leaky Cauldron instead of at the station if she thought they could manage the trunks, give them a little time to clear their heads.

Harry started taking advantage of his new legal status almost straight away and they spent the eight hour journey poured over books of spells that would come in handy. Harry practiced shrinking their trunks on Crookshanks' empty cage until he was confident enough to attempt it on their trunks.

"I don't want to do it if I can't turn them back...we need to do enough this summer without me setting all of our things on fire..."

Once he had mastered the trunks, he placed them carefully in his pocket and settled back to discuss their plans. Neville had vanished down the train, blushing all of the way out of the compartment, as he told them he had promised to go and see Susan Bones before they got to London.

"You know, in all of the drama around that article, I forgot about that petition...did anything even come of it?"

Hermione tore her eyes away from the blurred country side to look at Harry.

"You're right...I never even thought about it. I suppose it's the least of our worries now."

They had only spoken about the night in the graveyard once and Harry knew he was going to have to explain it to Hermione's parents when they met. He had been going over what to say for days now but the whole situation felt utterly surreal.

"Yeah...I wrote to Snuffles before we left, he should start making his way to London in the next week. I told him to meet us in three weeks, should be plenty of time to plan a holiday and get a room ready for him to stay in."

A strange look crossed Hermione's face every time Harry mentioned the holiday and Harry wasn't sure she realised she was doing it. He wouldn't have called Hermione bashful my any stretch of the imagination but she looked almost shy whenever they started talking about it.

"That should work out quite nicely. I thought we would probably just take the tube to meet mum and dad, it's about an hour to walk from there to the house...they said it depends on what kind of paper work you need to get in."

Harry nodded along, he'd been worried about how they were going to get to the house.

"Ragnok said he would leave all of the paperwork for me at the front desk for us to pick up whenever we needed it. I think he's leaving a full folio of properties for us to look at. if we need to get any furniture in then he's let instructions for it as well."

Excitement bubbled up in his chest whenever Harry thought about the house. It might not have been the family he had wished for growing up but it was the closest thing he had found to freedom and despite the still raw pain in his chest, he was burning up with happiness over the prospect of a Dursleys free summer.

He was wearing his cloak when they left the train and they waited until everyone else had cleared the platform before passing through the Muggle London in time to see Harry's Aunt and Uncle standing fuming in the station. Hermione made a wide berth around them, in case the might recognise her from previous years, and Harry remained hidden under the cloak until they were in the underground station beside Kings Cross.

Hermione was the expert at navigation the tube, having spent most of her pre-Hogwarts summers in the city, and Harry was happy for her to take the lead as she explained the whole system to him even though he knew the basics. It was only five minutes before they stepped back out into the bright sunlight and made the short walk to the Leaky Cauldron.

Hermione's parents were sitting in a corner at the back of the pub, looking quite at ease despite their magical surroundings and the fact that the patrons would eye them suspiciously every so often.

"Mum and dad have grown quite fond of the place…they keep a pile of spare Galleons in case they fancy coming down. If you ask me, I think they just like to unsettle the other patrons."

Harry couldn't keep the grin off his face at the thought of the prim and proper looking Grangers going out of their way to make some of the less pleasant visitors to the Leaky Cauldron uncomfortable. The last time Harry had seen Mr and Mrs Grnager had been that disaster of a meeting with Gilderoy Lockhart and he hadn't quite been able to remember what they looked like.

Mr Granger was a tall man with thick, dark hair and Hermione's eyes, he looked like the sort of man that would have played Rugby at University and who had kept it up on the side ever since. Mrs Granger, on the other hand, was slightly shorter with mousey brown hair and lighter eyes than her husband. It didn't seem like Hermione took after either of them but, at the same time, the three of them just _looked_ like a family.

"Mum, Dad – this is Harry, I've told you about him in my letters, Harry these are my parents, Dan and Emma."

After hugging Hermione, Mrs Granger turned to Harry and offered him a hug as well.

"It's lovely to meet you Harry, Hermione told us some of what's happened already so don't feel like you need to rush into anything."

Her husband shook Harry's hand and offered him a similarly warm greeting.

"Exactly what she said, Harry. We're more than happy to help and friend of Hermione's. Just let us know what you need."

Harry, a little shaken by their openness and readiness to help, had to take a minute to compose his thoughts.

"I…um…_wow_…thank you so much for doing this. I wasn't really all that prepared for it, if I'm honest…I don't really know what I need to do."

After a late lunch, they made their way through the archway and towards Gringotts where Harry collected the thick portfolio of properties that Ragnok had left for him.

Kensington Palace Gardens were, to Harry's mind at least, an experience of their own. From the mixture of old and modern buildings and the armed police checkpoints, Harry couldn't stop himself from staring opening at the buildings as they passed.

In the end, all he had to do to gain entry was show his family ring and watch as the eyes of the Policemen glazed over for a moment. They admitted him with nothing more than a 'Have a good evening, Lord Potter' and a nod of their heads.

Harry's house was conveniently right next to the checkpoint. It was a tall building constructed from dark red bright with white accents and large sash windows, the fidelus charm wasn't in place yet but the Goblin at the desk had told him that a team would be dispatched later to see to it.

Inside, the ceilings were high and the white-painted walls gave the whole building a sense of class and importance that Harry hadn't expected from a building that hadn't been properly lived in since before the Second World War. He had worked out from the folio that his Grandparents had used it as their main residence when they were younger and then for a few days each year surrounding his dad leaving for and coming home from Hogwarts. He had forgotten how old wizards could live to until he realised that Dorea and Charlus Potter would have had his father when they were in their forties.

Furniture had been moved into many of the rooms and Harry vaguely recognised the haphazard mix of items as ones that had been stored in some of his new vaults. There was still a sense of emptiness about the house but it was more than liveable in.

"Harry…this is magnificent…Ragnok really did a number on this one."

There was a loud crack that took their whole group by surprise.

"Harry Potter Sir, Dobby is hearing that you is not at your aunt and uncles. Professor Dumbledore was most displeased to hear and has been looking all over for yous. Dobby was wondering if Harry Potter might be in need of a house elf with all of these houses? Lots of cleaning and work to be done before they can be lived in."

Dobby was standing wringing one of the many sock he wore between his hands, looking for all the world like he was about to try and punish himself. Harry was delighted to see him.

"Dobby! I mean…How did you find…no, no never mind…I thought you were working at Hogwarts? Wouldn't working for me get you in trouble?"

"Dobby is free to leave Hogwarts whenever he wishes, sir. It was in his contract with Professor Dumbledore and Dobby would very much like to be the Great Harry Potter's elf! Dobby does not want paying either sir, because he knows Harry Potter will try to because Harry Potter sir is an honourable wizard, the very…"

Harry was acutely aware of Hermione's parents watching all of this unfold and he felt a blush rise to his cheeks. He was also conscious of the fact that Hermione would be none too pleased at the idea of him having a House Elf but, thinking about his properties, it _would_ be useful and he _did_ owe Dobby a lot for all the help he had given him over the last two years, even if he'd almost been killed by that Bludger.

"Okay, Dobby….if you really want to then…"

Dobby bounced forwards, the top of his head colliding with Harry's outstretched palm and a bright flash exploded from where they met, followed by a sharp static shock that ran through Harry's arm.

Almost instantly, the change in Dobby was evident. His ratty jumpers seemed to fit him better, his ears didn't droop quite so much and he seemed to gain some colour in his cheeks. Looking at him, even Hermione would be forced to admit that he did seem so much happier in service. That was when Harry had an idea.

"Dobby, I know you like clothes so I'm still going to pay you the same as Dumbledore so that you can go out and buy your own things whenever you like. I don't what you to take it the wrong was if I give you a present so this way you still get to, uh, be yourself…but, before we figure that out, can you throw Dumbledore off our tracks?"

"Dobby would be happy to Master Harry!"

"Really, Dobby, It's just Ha…"

He vanished with a crack before Harry could finish.

That night, the Grangers sat up on the plush couch in the drawing room of Harry's Palace Green house with a bottle of wine, trying to sort through everything they had learned that afternoon.

After Dobby had departed, Harry and Hermione had sat them down and explained _everything_, for start to finish, and to say it had been a lot to take in was an understatement.

"…and here I thought that Hermione had overstated the Troll."

Emma couldn't help but let out the anxious laughter she'd been holding in all day.

"I think trolls are the least of our worries Dan! Madmen, giant snakes, Werewolves, _dragons!_ To think we've been letting her risk her life every year. What does that make us?"

Dan had been thinking along the same lines, Hermione had never been a child who pushed her boundaries so long as she knew why they were there. She might have argued black was blue of she didn't agree with the rules they put in place but she never railed against them but both parents knew that it would be hopeless to try and ban her from the magical world now.

"We could pull her out of school but she would never forgive us, that world is her birth right…no matter what we think. She's _learning_ how to survive in that world; if we took her out of it I can't help but think she'd be in even more danger."

"Harry will keep her safe, I'm certain of that much. Did you see the way they looked at each other?"

Dan hummed in agreement, draining the last of his glass and placing it back on the glass-topped coffee table in front of them. As soon as he placed it down, the two empty glasses and bottle vanished. The faint clinking of glass echoed from somewhere in the quiet house and it seemed like Dobby was still hard at work.

"I didn't think I was imagining that. They'll make quite the pair when they're older, I just hope Hermione doesn't let her self-esteem get in the way of her happiness. You know she won't own up to her feelings if she thinks it might hurt her friendship…I like him. I didn't want to after hearing some of the things he's gotten into but, that's not really the lad's fault, is it? I'm not a bad father for being glad they're friends? Even though she gets herself into so much danger because of it?"

Emma shook her head, patting his arm lightly before standing up and stretching.

"Not at all, love. If anything, I think you're a _better _father for understanding she'd be in danger no matter what…and for knowing we're not the people who are best equipped to protect her. Come on, I get the feeling tomorrow will be a busy day so we'd better turn in."

Neither of them noticed the dark figure standing in the corner of the hall as they made their way up the stairs. Once they were gone, Harry stepped out into the artificial light streaming through the windows. He hadn't meant to over hear them but he'd had a sneaking suspicion that Dobby would be working himself to the bone and he was going to tell the little Elf to get some rest when he heard his name drifting from the drawing room.

He hadn't been prepared for the maelstrom of feelings in his chest and, as he quietly crept down to the kitchen, he could only separate one clear through from the jumble in his mind.

The Grangers were right – He was determined to keep Hermione safe, no matter what they had to face next.

**A/N: I know, I know. I've fallen on that old 'Dan and Emma Granger' trope but, at this point, I'm too tired to be any more creative with them. Besides, despite the real-world connections, they seem like the kind of names that would fit Hermione's parents. **

**I know it's been a long time since I updated and I'm making no promises about the frequency with which will continue because my health is all kinds of up and down at the moment. However, I **_**will**_** finish this story at some point. **

'**Till the next time. **


	11. Chapter 11

11.

The Grangers left just after breakfast the next morning in order to pick up some things from their house in Crawley. Harry had decided to invite them to stay for the ascension ceremony and Hermione had given him a pointed look that meant she had something she wanted to discuss when she returned that night.

Harry was only alone for a few hours, pacing the house and trying to get his bearings, when there was a knock at the front door.

Pulling it open, he was met with a team of seven wizards, all who had done their best to dress inconspicuously. The majority of them had managed it but they would have done far better had three of them not been wearing tuxedos instead of business suits.

The one in the front was a dark skinned man with scars all over his face who only just came up to Harry's shoulder. When he walked, he looked as if he was wholly uncomfortable in his body.

"Well met, Lord Potter. I am Alguf, Director Ragnok has sent me with a team of our best spell casters to place the Fidelus charm of your property."

"Oh! Yes, hello! I wasn't actually expecting wizards…come in, come in."

Alguf stared for a moment, as if he wasn't certain what to make of Harry, before stepping through the door. As soon and they were standing in the drawing room, the gobbling dropped his glamour.

"That is much better. The Director himself has handled all of the arrangements for the spell, all we need to know is who will be nominated secret keeper."

Harry had thought about it for a long time, remember the mistake that his parents had made before him.

"I'm going to do it, if that's…"

"That is perfectly acceptable. It is usually suggested that the secret reside within a resident or owner of the property for security reasons. Please hold out your hand so we make take a few drops of blood for the spell."

Harry held out the his left hand, wincing only a little as one of the wizards with Alguf used a razor sharp silver knife with a long groove down the middle of the blade to cut open his palm. The knife was carved with runes, some of which he recognised from Hermione's notes, and as soon as the cut was made, the knife seemed to pull his blood up into the grove.

When the blade left his skin, the cut healed itself.

"That's amazing…"

Alguf again regarded him with a calculating look.

"You act as if you were not accustomed with magic, Lord Potter. That knife is simply a more powerful version of something third year students are taught to create. A very simple piece of rune work."

Harry felt bashful for some reason, like he'd sabotaged his own future taking Divination instead of Ancient Runes.

"My best friend took Ancient Runes but I've never really encountered much…honestly, a lot of the things I'm starting to encounter are pretty amazing to me and I'm starting to wish I hadn't taken Divination."

"Divination is a noble art in itself but wizards lack the ability to understand it. It is not a subject that can be taught if you lack the natural talent for it. Still, you may yet learn something."

As the spell crafters got to work, Harry tried to pay attention to what they were doing but the spells they were muttering under their breaths were too complex for him to catch and the runes they were carving around the skirting boards seemed to shimmer and vanish as soon as they were done. Harry knew the spell had been a success when he felt a pronounced shiver run down his spine which wasn't missed by Alguf. The goblin reapplied his glamour and moved towards the door.

"Once we leave, Lord Potter, the charm will be completed and you will be other only one capable of revealing this address to anyone. If there is anyone who needs to find you then I suggest you write to them forthwith. Any post will be redirected to Gringotts where you can collect it until you make alternative arrangements. Good day."

As the door closed behind the team, a pulse of magic spread outwards from the door and Harry felt a tickle at the back of his mind. He ran upstairs to the room had had slept in the night before and pulled out a thin piece of parchment and a quill.

_'Hermione, _

_The Goblins have come and done what they said they were going to do. I'll meet you at the same place as yesterday. Send Hedwig back when you're ready to leave. _

_Love, Harry.' _

Harry stared at his signature, not entirely sure if he'd meant to sign the letter quite like that but he was sure Hermione wouldn't think anything of it. He rolled the parchment up and tied it to Hedwig's leg.

"You'll be able to find your way back girl, won't you? Even under this charm?"

The look Harry received from the owl was nothing short of withering and, rather unsettlingly, reminded him of Professor McGonagall.

The Grangers beat him to the Leaky Cauldron by only half an hour and, as they had the day before, they had lunch there before wandering into the Alley. Hermione send her parents into the magical Menagerie before dragging Harry towards Fortescue's.

"Harry, don't get me wrong – I'm delighted that you invited my parents to be at your Ascension but I'm wondering if you haven't quite thought it through. I don't think a muggle has ever set foot in the Ministry, never mind in any of the Wizengamot proceedings…I'm not actually certain if they'll be able to access the Ministry without magic."

They both ordered small ice creams and moved to sit outside.

"It's okay, Hermione…I've been thinking it through this morning and yeah, I kind of over looked that but there's nothing to specify that I _have_ to have the ceremony in the Ministry, just that it has to be in front of the Wizengamot so that I can nominate my proxies. As far as I can tell from the things Ragnok sent me, I could hold it in the middle of a forest if I wanted to and they'd be obliged to show up. There's only about sixty of them at most that need to be there and, if I even say we add our friends then we have a maximum party of about 100. I was starting to wonder if I shouldn't make a statement with it."

Realisation dawned across Hermione's face.

"Because we both heard Fudge after…well…after the third task, he's bound to start a desperate campaign _against_ you and Dumbledore to stop everyone from panicking. If you were to pack a room with supporters, it might stop him from being so outspoken about it…I think we need Neville's help with this though."

Harry was quick to agree, he'd been planning on running the idea past Ragnok before owling Neville right away.

"The problem is…I'm also expected to have a ball after it or some kind of party at least and the only experience I have is the Yule Ball…I've never…well…"

Hermione smiled sweetly and Harry caught himself thinking once more about the conversation he'd overheard.

"I remember mum telling me she used to help plan weddings and social events on the side when she was a student…I think between her and Neville we might be able to do something."

"We? Don't you have homework to do?"

She knew he was only teasing, though it was true she had started making notes of her holiday homework on the train 'whilst she was still in the school mind-set'.

"There are three full months between now and going back to school…and an eight hour train ride if I really fall that far behind. I know how long it'll take me and I think this might be a little more important to get right."

Harry feigned shock.

"Hermione Granger…finding something more important that homework? What will everyone say!"

She tapped him playfully on the nose with the back of her spoon.

"That's quite enough of that. If you keep it up I'll convince mum to put you in the most unflattering dress robes I can find and you'd be too polite to say no."

Visions of what Ron was forced to wear to the Yule Ball sprung to mind and Harry bit back a laugh.

"Whatever you say, 'Mione. Whatever you say."

Mrs Granger was more than delighted to help plan such a massive party and, once they were all sitting comfortably back in Harry's house, he also began to explain his half-formed plan.

"Our world is a little corrupt…it's not even like the politicians themselves are malicious, they're just stupid and easily lead by those with the right money. I want to try and make it impossible for them to publically humiliate me like Skeeter tried to do last year…"

He was also in the middle of writing a letter to Neville, but was trying to figure out a way to ensure his address wouldn't fall into the wrong hands. Hermione, as he should have expected, was the one who solved his problem.

"I remember reading something about delayed charms, I'll go and find the book and you should be able to make the parchment burn up ones it's been read."

The spell, as it turned out, was simple enough though it was buried in the midst of her massive Ancient Runes textbook. He just had to write out the correct runes at the top of the page and then charge them with the spell he wanted.

"I'm _really_ starting to regret not taking Runes now…this is just…"

"It's alright. If you'd like I can teach you some of the basics before we go back, my third year textbook is much smaller than this…a lot of wizards don't bother with it at all unless they're going into spell crafting or law."

Once Hedwig was sent off with the letter for Neville, Harry laid out the property portfolio that Ragnok had given him at their first meeting. He had initially chosen Potter Manor because of its apparent size but he wasn't sure if it was really the best place for it. Including the small manor house they were currently sitting in, Harry had five properties in Britain that he could choose from.

Potter Manor, in Wiltshire, was where his father had grown up and was where the majority of the previous Lord Potters had made their home since it was built by one of his ancestors in the early Nineteenth Century as a gift for his sickly wife. It looked like it was near to several other manors and estates owned by powerful wizarding families like the Malfoys, the Bones and even the Minister for Magic himself.

The was a small holiday home, called The Lake House, hidden somewhere in the midst of the Lake District that Harry had discounted as far too small for any kind of part but that seemed to have a large plot of land surrounding it that had been specifically warded of the owners could entertain all year round. He had managed to find a photo from the album that Hagrid had gifted him of his father and Sirius at what looked like a Christmas party, on a wide patio that looked like it matched the description of The Lake House.

The second smallest property he owned sounded _fascinating_ and he resolved to investigate it as soon as he had the time. It was a small manor called the Rookery on the Isle of Skye that was described as being comprised entirely of crooked towers that looked as if they had been bundled together, mostly with magic. In Harry's mind, he was imagining several stone Burrows piled together and holding each other up. The Rookery had only really been used by one Lord Potter as a private escape for his family and it was reportedly full of ravens and had been taken over by the greenhouses surrounding it.

The most interesting property, however, was situated only ten miles from Hogwarts and sat directly beside the main railway line to Hogsmeade. Its original name had been lost in time and was documents simply as The Castle. It was a large fortification that had originally been built in the early Eleventh Century and seemed to be the main inheritance the Potters had from the Gryffindor line. Over the centuries it had been expanded and improved upon until it was certain that it could withstand both muggle and magical sieges for up to two years without experiencing any difficulties. Within the boundaries of the castle was a small, secluded village called Castleinnis-on-Loch-Mor that seemed to be similar to Hogsmeade in construction though, unlike its counterpart beside Hogwarts, Castleinnis was a mixed village with magical and muggle families living side by side in relative peace.

"Harry…you own a castle. This is starting to get a little bit surreal."

"Hermione… I own a castle that I could live in, right under Dumbledore's nose and he'd never find me. I think this had long since passed surreal."

The Castle was discarded right away as a venue for Harry's ascension because they all decided it would make for a good hiding place once Dobby had checked it out. The Rookery was never going to be an option and Harry was keen to keep the secret on the Kensington Palace Gardens address between as small a number as possible.

That left them with The Lake House or Potter Manor and Harry was inclined to think he'd been right with his original choice.

It turned out that Hermione absolutely got her ferocity from her mother because, once Emma got started, she was a forced to be reckoned with as she doodle out ideas of scraps of parchment and Harry found himself answering the kind of questions about the Wizarding world that he'd never even considered before.

"Now, with all your potions and magical fixes…are allergies a problem when it comes to food? Because I don't know about what kinds of fancy etiquette you'll need to follow but I can tell you it's probably frowned upon to kill your guests."

"I really…I really don't know…I've never heard of allergies being a problem for anyone at Hogwarts. We won't be able to have silver plates or cutlery though! One of the people I'm hoping will come…"

"This is the werewolf, yes? Your magical guardian?"

Harry nodded, just glad that he'd at least remembered how badly werewolves could react to silver.

Once Emma was happy with her basic ideas, she had Harry and Hermione sit down and write a guest list whilst she and Dan went out to pick up Chinese takeout for all of them. Dobby had been more than happy to cook but Harry had ordered him to get some rest because he was going to be needed when it came to ferrying messages back and forth across the country when the planning _really_ got underway.

**A/N: I am honestly shocked with myself that I managed to get this one up so quickly because I only started it 3 hours ago. Don't start expecting regular updates but I will go straight into writing the next chapter and just see what I get done. I'll be working for the rest of the week though so if it isn't finished tonight, it will be a while before it's posted. **

**As a side note, to my mind Hogwarts should be placed somewhere in the region of Lochindorb (which is what I personally use as a reference point for the Black Lake). I got this purely from the idea that Hogwarts is obviously in Scotland and, in the films, it's mentioned as being 'not far' from Dufftown and Lochindorb is only an hour's drive away. Thinking of the various wards around Hogwarts, especially the one that makes it look like a mouldering ruin to muggles, Lochindorb is also home to the ruins of a castle out on a small island. **

**The Castle, owned by Harry, is situated just inside the Cairngorms National Park and Castleinnis is a completely fictional village with nothing much special about it at all. **


	12. Chapter 12

12.

The summer went by far too quickly.

As soon as Neville had replied to them, he began visiting once a week. Hermione and her parents stayed with Harry in London of the weekends, taking the train back to their practice on a Monday morning, and Sirius finally managed to get in touch.

'_Pup, _

_I'm sorry it's taken me so long to reach you but Dumbledore had me rounding up the old crowd and spreading the news of what happened during the third task and now I'm staying with Moony in his flat._

_The old man is going absolutely spare over not being able to find you and me and Moony have been speculating as to where you might be. We spent a lot of time with the Potters after school and we've been to most of their houses. For the life of me, though, I can't seem to remember where we stayed at the end of every summer before going back to school. _

_Dumbledore has asked us not to tell you anything but, as no one seems able to get hold of Hermione either, you deserve to know that we'll all be meeting at my old family home soon enough and I'll send Remus to tell you more if I can't get out. _

_Stay safe, _

_Snuffles'_

Harry was sitting in one of the private mail room in Gringotts, sorting through the letters he had been sent over the last week. Most of them were empty letters from Dumbledore and had been screened for elaborate tracking charms that were designed to activate when they were opened. There were a few from the ministry and other retailers who they weren't using Dobby to communicate with over the preparations of the ceremony and one apiece from Hogwarts, Remus, Sirius and Ron.

Harry had opened Sirius' right away but had tucked the other three into his coat for later once he'd had a security goblin check them for more tracking charms. He knew the fidelus would protect him all the same but he didn't want to end up trapped in the house with Dumbledore pacing up and down the street looking for him. He knew he'd been spotted once or twice in Diagon Alley but with the vast majority of Wizards completely flummoxed by the notion of public transport, he hadn't found it too difficult to slip away from them.

As he exited the bank, he caught a flash of red hair and almost made to duck into the apothecary, until he realised it was Fred and George. The Weasley Twins weren't even looking at Harry. Instead, they were staring up at an empty shop longingly. Harry, remembering the bag of gold that was still sitting in his trunk, slipped through the crowds and stopped directly behind them.

"You two wouldn't be in need of a business partner, would you?"

As one, the twins jumped and scrambled backwards towards the building before realising who it was.

"Merlins left ballsack, Harry. We thought you were our mother."

Harry determined that the one on the left was George. He wasn't sure how he was learning to tell them apart but it was getting easier as the years passed.

"Sorry guys, but I'm serious. I have a bag of Triwizard winnings that I don't want and, after everything that's happened, I recon people could use a little laughter."

It had been an idea that he'd mulled over at the end of the school year as he did his best to avoid the great hall. Fred and George were geniuses and, after all the help the Marauders Map had been, he felt like he owed them something in return.

"You can't be serious, Harry…that's a ridiculous amount of gold to just throw away."

He smirked and gestured for them to follow him towards the Leaky Cauldron. As they walked, he tried to explain his plan to them.

"Nah, I've just _inherited_ a ridiculous amount of money and I want to do something useful with it. Consider the winnings an advance of sorts, get everything you need together, and then owl me once you need to start looking for a shop."

Fred looked thoroughly gobsmacked.

"Just how long have you been planning this, Harry?"

Harry shrugged as he back towards the portal that would lead him out into Muggle London.

"Long enough. Tell Ron I got his letter – I'll be in touch!"

Back at the house, Harry headed straight for the kitchen where he knew Dobby was working on a menu for the Ball. Every day, he had a different meal waiting on Harry and then he would re-make Harry's favourite for when the Grangers arrived. It turned out they were expected to host a ten course meal prior to the Ball and they still had five courses to work out.

"Master Harry sir!"

Harry, though he tried, hadn't been able to get Dobby to drop the 'master' and he was starting ot think it was an inbuilt part of the House elf bond.

"Hi Dobby, could I get you to drop something at the Burrow for the Weasley twins later?"

"Of course sir. Master Harry's Grangy was on the…the…"

He was struggling with the world.

"The telephone?"

Harry had a telephone put in, with much help from Hermione's dad, to make contacting her during the week much easier.

"Yes! Master Harry's Grangy said to say that she would be over earlier than usual with news from Professor Dumbledore. Miss Grangy thinks she will be here tonight when she has finished her homework."

"Excellent Dobby! Is the Prophet in here? I didn't get a chance to read it before I left."

With a snap of his fingers, the Daily Prophet appeared on the table and Harry set it to one side, deciding to read the two letters before he got bogged down under whatever the Ministry was trying to say about him today.

The first letter, from Remus, was much of what he had been expecting.

'_Harry, _

_Of course I'd be delighted to come to the ball, as long as you're certain it's alright. As for standing in as your proxy, you know how poorly that would be taken and, though your reasons are sound enough, let just see how things progress before we make any steadfast decisions. _

_We're all staying together now so there's little I can tell you that Pads won't have probably given away in his letters, but know that Dumbledore would like to arrange for you to at least visit us here once. He's somewhat agreed to stop hunting you down so long as you come and speak with him, he says he has news about your Aunt and Uncle that's quite important. _

_Don't let him know I said that but, personally, I think it would do a certain old dog some good to have an extra friendly face around. There's only so much I can do when I'm not here all the time and I think Molly if going to go spare if he teaching anything else to the Twins. They're really doing rather well with that little start up grant and I think you'll be pleased to see some of the things they're working on._

_If I could, I would sneak you in myself but the whole building is so well protected that it really need to be Dumbledore that lets you in. If you'd like to visit, let me know and I'll arrange it for you. The most I'm able to say is that we're really not very far from you at all. _

_Keep yourself safe, don't do anything Snuffles (thank you _so_ much for getting that to stick) would do._

_Moony' _

Harry knew meeting with Dumbledore was inevitable. He might have been removed as Chief warlock of the Wizengamot but he still held a seat on the council and he would be at Harry's ascension. It seemed almost sensible to get any meeting out of the way before such a public event.

Ron's letter was not what Harry had been expecting at all.

' _Harry, _

_I just wanted to say I'm sorry about how I was last year. I don't know if you've got it yet but the Hogwarts letters were delivered this morning and I've been made a prefect…Mum's thrilled but I'm really not too sure. I think I'll talk to McGonagall when we get back. _

_I know I was a prat and I've written Hermione to apologise for what I said but I understand if things can't be the way they were. I think mum's more miffed at me than anything; the badge is only going to buy me a day or two of freedom from her nagging. _

_So, yeah. I'm sorry for being an arse and I'll maybe see you on the train!_

_Ron'_

The apology seemed genuine enough but after the snarking and little arguments that had broken out every week since the fight in the Common Room, Harry had seen more and more similarities between Ron and Malfoy and it was difficult for him to reconcile that with the letter in front of him. He'd also forgotten all about prefects being chosen but he knew himself it wasn't something he was ever going to get. He was half expecting Hermione to arrive with the badge already pinned to her chest.

His Hogwarts book list was the most sedate by far with absolutely no mention of murderous books for Hagrid's class and nothing that might give away who their new Defence Professor might be.

Harry asked Dobby to delay dinner until Hermione got to them and instead sent Dobby to find the twins with the bag of Galleons he'd won. It took Dobby well over an hour to find them and, at that, he'd had to accost them in the Leaky Cauldron where they revealed that wherever they were staying was under the Fidelus and that they were apparating from the top step to the pub every few hours in order to escape their mother.

When Hermione arrived later than night, she brought with her some sombre news.

"There was a Dementor attack in Surrey two days ago, they say a muggle teenager was kissed…one of Mum's patients was talking about it. She said apparently the son of some company director was found catatonic in the street and taken to hospital. Then, Dumbledore sent me a letter saying it was imperative that he speak with you about your aunt and uncle and, well, I think your cousin was the one who was kissed."

Harry expected to feel something. As horrid as his life had been with the Dursleys, he had thought he would feel slightly guilty if something bad happened to one of them because of him. If he really thought about it, he would expect to feel the worst about something happening to Dudley, who was genuinely too stupid to know to what he'd be getting himself into.

Instead, Harry felt mostly numb.

"I though the ministry still had control of the Dementors? What the hell were they doing in Surrey?"

"Looking for you I would think. We've annoyed a lot of people making the Wizengamot go all the way to Wiltshire for your ceremony, if they think you're going to be too much trouble they might have tried to have you dealt with."

It was a terrifying through that made Harry all the more thankful for the protections offered by the house.

"I think I might have to give up and meet Dumbledore. Remus said he'd arrange everything and it _would _be nice to see Sirius properly. – he's sounded so miserable in his last few letters that I can't help but feel guilty about not visiting him sooner."

Hermione was inclined to agree. She'd also received a letter from Ron with what was, to her eyes at least, a rather feeble apology.

"Honestly, he sounds like he's apologising just to get his mother off of his back. I don't want to have another year of him saying those ridiculous things to me but I just don't know if I can forgive him that easily, never mind have to work with him as a prefect. I actually hoped you to get it, if I'm honest."

She was blushing a little as she said it and Harry was left to wonder why it was an embarrassing thing for her to hope for.

"Me? I'd be a _terrible_ prefect. I spend half my time arguing with Snape and the other half lurking about the castle in the middle of the night. I forgot they were going to be picked this year…Ron…Ron was a surprise though. I don't know who I'd have picked besides you, maybe Dean.'

Dean Thomas, from what Harry could remember, wasn't far behind then academically and he was popular with the rest of the house. He'd had made a fantastic prefect to Harry's mind.

"Well, what's done is done I suppose. Maybe you'll get Quidditch Captain when Wood leaves, apart from being able to dock points, it leaves you with a lot of the same privileges as the prefects."

"Well that bathroom _was_ pretty nice…"

Those were not the kind of thoughts he was supposed to be having and images of their conversation in the broom closet sprung to mind with a whole new twist, thanks to Hermione's parents. Forcing the images down, Harry searched around desperately for a chance of topic.

"I wonder why everyone seems to be living in the same place…d'you think it's something to do with Voldemort?"

**A/N: I've decided, for the sake of plot holes, that the Granger's have their surgery in Guilford to take them closer to where Little Whinging is. **

**Again, I've amazed myself at how quickly I've managed to get this one out and I'm quite eager to work through as much as I can before I either run out of steam or go back to work. As a result, there might be one or two errors scattered through these chapters but I can always go back and sort them with fresh eyes. I'd just quite like to keep the story going. **


	13. Chapter 13

13.

'_The Order of the Phoenix can be found at Number 12 Grimmauld Place.' _

The note in their hands curled in on itself and burst into flames as the doorway of the house they were looking for seemed to materialise from thin air. Remus led Harry and Hermione up the steps and gestured for them to be quiet as they crossed a dark, gloomy entrance hall with a set of moth eaten curtains hanging on the wall.

Harry made to ask what they were hiding but Remus frantically shushed him before leading them up the staircase and into a door just off the first floor landing. Once the door clicked shut behind them he let out a sigh of relief, only to be winded as Sirius pushed past him to hug Harry.

"Oh no, don't mind me. I'm just the one who risked the wrath of your abominable mother _and_ Molly Weasley to sneak this pair into the house so they could adjust to the place without having their ribs broken."

Harry thought he must have misheard him.

"Your mother still lives here?"

Sirius, who was looking better than he had in the cave despite still being distinctly pale and drawn, let out a loud bark of laughter.

"Dead as a doornail, thank Merlin. No, the thrice damned old hag put a portrait of herself up in the hall with a permanent sticking charm and it's all we can do to stop her screaming the odds at everyone who walks through the door. Just watch you don't trip over the umbrella-"

A crash sounded from far below them, swiftly followed by the ear-splitting screams of what much have been Mrs Black's portrait. Lupin sighed but Harry could see him struggling to keep a small smile off of his face.

"That'll be Nymphadora. I'll go close the curtains and tell Molly to put out a few extra spaces for lunch."

Whilst they waited, Sirius regaled them with the tales of what the Twins had gotten up to whilst everyone else had been trying to clean.

"That pair have more brains than Molly gives them credit for, get them to show you some of the pieces they want to work on once they have a bit more business behind them – I wish we'd had some of their projects around the first time we did this. We'd never have lost so many."

Hermione was quick to jump in, changing the subject.

"Exactly who are 'we' for that matter. I know there's a lot that you can't say it a letter but what exactly is Dumbledore up to?"

Sirius ran his hand through his hair, looking like her was trying to find the best way to explain it.

"The Order is…kind of a resistance group I suppose. We worked _with_ the Ministry the last time but kept ourselves a little separate as a last line of defence in case it fell to Voldemort. This time we're just trying to make sure as many people as possible know that that danger is out there whilst we try to figure out exactly what Voldemort is doing. Molly will have a fit over me telling you this, Harry, but you're an adult in the eye of the law and you're perfectly entitled to join. Dumbledore thinks you're the most important target that Voldemort will have so…"

"So he'll want me where he can keep an eye on me. You realise, if I'd been back with the Dursleys, he'd have been happy enough to keep me shut up all summer without any information at all? Because he's been pretty vague sending all these messaged through different people."

Despite Hermione's hand on his arm, he could feel his temper rising.

"After some of the stunts that old coot pulled last year, he'd better have a good explanation for why he's so interested in my life."

"Harry, try to stay calm. Merlin knows I've had a go at him a few times in meetings myself but the more emotional you get about it, the less likely he is to take you seriously. There's still a week to go before you're granted all the powers of your station so just…try not to get carried away."

The raucous laughter at the door of the drawing room was quickly muffled by a hand. Remus only tried to look a little bit sheepish.

"Sorry, but that's really rich coming from the man who built a flying motorbike in his bedroom and rode it down the stairs when he ran away from home. Lunch is ready, Molly's mostly on her own in the kitchen so you're safer getting in before the whole rabble arrives."

Sirius lead them back down through the hall and down another flight of stairs into the long kitchen. Molly looked up at the new arrivals and bustled down towards them, embracing Harry in a bone crushing hug.

"Harry my dear, it's so nice you've finally made it! I don't know if you've met Nymph…"

"It's Tonks. Just…Tonks and, yeah, we've met once."

It was the pink-haired Auror who had assisted Madame Bones with her questioning just before the third task. This time, however, her hair was significantly longer and a much paler pink. She was smiling brightly up at them with a plate piled full of sandwiches.

"Dumbledore probably won't be here until it's time for the meeting so you might as well settle in for a wait!"

Tonks seemed to brighten when Remus pulled up the chair opposite her and the rest scattered themselves around the pair. Sirius had a mischievous air about him but, when Harry shot him a questioning look, he only shook his head and mouthed 'later' before launching into a conversation.

"So, what you pair might not know, is that Tonks here is also a metamorphagus. She spent the entirety of the last meeting impersonating Snivellus behind his back."

Mrs Weasley swatted at Sirius with a dish towel.

"They're not to know about the meetings! Hush you."

Sirius waved her off but Harry wasn't going to let it drop.

"Snape was here? What does he have to do with anything?"

With Mrs Weasley's dish towel poised above his head, Sirius only grinned and shook his head. Harry would no doubt find out later. When Molly turned back to the dishes, her charms had gotten way ahead of her and she was forced to pull some still damp plates from the cupboards they'd tidied themselves into.

"Snivellus is supposedly a spy for the Order!"

_SMACK_

Mrs Weasley caught Sirius' ear with the very tip of her dish towel.

"Fuck! Calm down Molly! They were going to find out eventually!"

His language earned him another smack and Molly pulled back the towel, waiting to see if he would speak again.

"We have our instructions. Not a word to anyone outside of the Order about what goes on without express permission. They are _children_ Sirius."

"You're not his mother, Molly. You get no say in this."

"_And you're not his guardian!"_

"You're right, I am."

Remus had, with an apologetic look to Tonks, Harry and Hermione entered the fray.

"_I_ am Harry's legal magical guardian and technically, if we're going by the will that our illustrious leader sealed, Minerva is the one with custody over him. _However_, Harry is an adult now, no matter what you think, and he is entitled to think and speak for himself. Can we please stop this?"

Tonks leaned over to Harry and Hermione as the argument continued but she kept her eyes on Lupin the whole time.

"They've been having this argument ever since you agree to come, Harry. Dumbledore hasn't been around to break it up so Remus and Arthur try their best…the general consensus seems to be that, as long as you've got no plans to run off and join the nutter trying to kill you, you should be fine to know everything we know. Some people, on the other hand, don't want you to be told anything."

"And for a good reason!"

Harry tried to derail Mrs Weasley before she got started again.

"It's okay! I won't ask anything else until Dumbledore gets here…I was coming to see the twins as well…"

Two loud cracks and Molly jumping out of her skin signals the arrival of Fred and George.

"Well if it isn't our esteemed Master Harry Potter Sir! And with his Grangy in tow! We thought we heard something fun going on."

Harry made a mental note to help Dobby expend his vocabulary before he allowed the Twins to lead him and Hermione away from the quarrelling adults.

"We've had to keep a lot of this stuff away from mum, she already tried to destroy three boxed of products before we left the Burrow and there's a lot that's still in the planning staged but we've been working on some really cool ideas."

**A/N: This will be the final one for tonight – 4 updates in one day is completely insane and I have no idea how I managed it but I felt kind awful after neglecting it for so long. **

**As it might be a while before I'm able to update again, I thought I'd clear up a few things that might not be overly apparent: **

**Harry mentions that Dumbledore had pulled quite a number of stunts in attempts to manipulate him but ~on screen~ as such, we haven't seen very many. This is because I'm a solid believer that Dumbledore's manipulations are not always as blatant as they appear in some fics and I think Harry would have figured out that the little things can be the most important. **

**I've got a bit of a personal theory about owl post and the fidelus. I think post owls are perfectly capable of getting through a fidelus charm so long as the sender knows the address; otherwise the owls will probably just fly in circles/return to their owners if a mail forwarding service hasn't been set up. **

**I have the same opinions on house elves – if their masters send them to an address under the fidelus charm, they'll be able to access it so long as their master is aware of the secret. **

**I'm going with the canon Remus/Tonks set up because, as much as I am a Wolfstar shipper at heart, Remus and Tonks are so delightfully torturous and they're equally adorable and panful and just beautiful. **

**Anyway, enough from me. The next chapter will finally see Dumbledore trying to explain why he wants to place Harry with the Dursleys and it'll see the start of some fascinating arguments (to my mind at least)**


	14. Chapter 14

14.

When Dumbledore arrived, he didn't even look up to see Harry hanging over the banister with the Twins and Hermione. Snape followed the Headmaster down towards the kitchen where another fifteen or so people were already waiting. The twins were able to lower their extendable ears down to the door in the hopes of catching few words of what was going on when the door was wrenched open and Sirius stuck his head out.

"Yes Molly! I wont forget the charms!"

He winked up at the twins before gesturing for Harry to follow him.

"Sorry, Hermione…it's more than my life's worth to try and get you in as well."

She wasn't too put out, knowing that Harry would end up explaining everything to her anyway. She whispered words of encouragement to Harry before he walked down the stairs to join Sirius.

From the first floor landing, they heard the click of the door locking but the shimmer of the Imperturbable Charm being raised never appeared.

In the kitchen, Harry found himself the centre of attention the moment he walked through the door and Dumbledore moved from his position by the fire to greet him.

"Harry! So good to finally see you safe and well. We have been _so _worried about you."

Sirius' hand on Harry's shoulder tightened as Snape scoffed quietly at the headmaster's words but he said nothing further. Dumbledore ushered Harry to a seat between Remus and Mrs Weasley and waited for Sirius to sit down but the Marauder stood staunchly at Harry's back.

"Very well then. Now that we're all gathered, I would like to introduce to properly to The Order of the Phoenix…you may know some of the face here but I highly doubt you'll know everyone so…"

"There's time for introductions later, Albus! Can't we just get on with it?"

Harry hadn't actually noticed Alastor Moody, the _real_ Alastor Moody, sitting at the far end of the table. His read eye was narrowed at Dumbledore whilst the fake one was pointing directly at Harry.

"Yes well…perhaps you have a point. The first item on our agenda this evening is some very grave news indeed. I'm sorry to tell you, harry, but Dudley Dursley was kissed by a Dementor a few nights ago. He is currently in a muggle hospital where he is believed to have slipped and banged his head."

Harry, of course, had been expecting the news but he tried to school his face into an expression of mock concern.

"What were Dementors doing so far away from Azkaban? I know a prison isn't the best place for a romantic stroll but _Surrey?_ "

He could hear Sirius fighting back a snigger but Snape clearly wasn't in a patient mood.

"It is no laughing matter, Potter. The boy is as good as dead because of your reckless behaviour."

Dumbledore looked mildly exasperated, like he had wanted to word it differently.

"Poorly worded though it may have been, Severus does have a point. Harry, your running away has upset your aunt and uncle and they-"

"Upset them!? They put _bars_ on my window! They locked Hedwig in her cage! They fed me cold soup though a cat flap in a locked door! If I'd had the sense to report even _half_ the things they did to me, they'd have been in jail years ago!"

A memory sprung to the front of his mind of being seven years old and making an offhand comment in school about his cupboard under the stairs.

"Nonsense, every teenager has disagreements with their…"

"I _did_ tell someone! Now I think about it, I tried to tell my teachers about it before I went to Hogwarts and it was always brushed under the carpet. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you? Because I _know_ muggles take this kind of this very seriously…"

Both Snape and Dumbledore looked like they had swallowed something very unpleasant and it was McGonagall who spoke up, her voice cracking.

"I told you, Albus! I told you they were the worst sort of Muggles. I saw the will last week; Harry was supposed to stay with me at Hogwarts after what happened to Frank and Alice…and now this? I hope you don't plan on trying to send him back there…"

"Minerva, you know as well as I do that his placement there is for his own safety. Lily's sacrifice…it left a bond, a ward of sorts. So long as Harry here lives with a blood relative of his mother then no one will be able to find him and Voldemort will be unable to harm him."

"He hasn't been there for weeks and _we_ haven't been able to find him aside from a few sightings in Diagon Alley. Honestly Albus, what were you _thinking_ trying to send the lad back to an abusive household like that?"

Other voices were beginning to join the fray and Harry was slightly perturbed to find Mrs Weasley, who he'd come to consider something of a second mother, a strong advocate for his return to the Dursleys, so long as it was what Dumbledore thought was best. Remus, on Harry's left, was sitting with his head in his hands, wincing at the noise and Harry felt a pang of guilt over dragging him into the middle of all of this. He knew Remus owed his life to Dumbledore but his loyalties were being torn and the full moon had only been two days ago.

Harry felt Sirius shift behind him and, over the racket of the argument; a sound like a gunshot rang through the kitchen, silencing everyone. Looking around, Sirius was standing with his wand in the air, a determined expression on his face.

"If any of you, and I mean _any_ of you, have any intentions of forcing my Godson to go back to those people then you will have to go through me first."

Remus hummed in quiet agreement.

"Sirius is right. Even if we were to ignore the fact that that Tournament meant forcing through an emancipation order, or if certain parties attempted to have it reversed – don't think I don't know it hasn't crossed your mind, Albus – Lily and James' will has been read. The only people who have any say over Harry's future in this room are Sirius, myself and Minerva, in that order. Tonks, I'm sure you could speak for your mother on her opinions but I don't believe Harry has met Andi since he was a baby."

Tonks, her hair back to its bubblegum pink, shrugged.

"Mum's nuts but she's going to be after your blood, Professor, if she catches wind of what went on in that house. I wouldn't cross her."

Dumbledore sank into the chair at the head of the table and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"It is not as simple as that. The protections that were put in place depend on Harry continuing to call Privet Drive home. It would only take living there for a few months out of the year, even splitting the time between summer and Christmas would keep the wards intact…"

"But you're forgetting, Sir, that Voldemort has my blood now…wouldn't that make all of those protections invalid?"

"But he still can't _find_ you at your…"

"I'm living under the Fidelus Charm, Professor and, before you ask, I'm not going to tell you who my Secret Keeper is. I've experienced first-hand how the charm can fail; I'm not going to make the same mistake. I am _safe_ where I am, safer than I'll ever be with the Dursleys."

Harry watched the clock as the meeting progressed and they continued to argue about his placement, and little else, for another three hours. It felt like they were constantly ghosting over the other topics on their agenda – Remus was making progress with some of the werewolves, Hagrid was somewhere in France, something was being guarded – and everything always managed to boil down to Harry not being where Dumbledore wanted him. Eventually, at the tail end of the meeting as everyone was standing to leave, Sirius snapped.

"Dumbledore! If I find out that Harry's been forced into doing something he doesn't want to do, this Order will not long be welcome under my roof, do you understand me? You might be our secret keeper but the old family magic still answers to me. Think about it."

Dumbledore only nodded in response before sweeping from the room with Snape on his heels and Harry made a mental note to tell Sirius his address before he left. Mrs Weasley was bustling about getting dinner ready and Harry could just make out the thundering of feet on the upper levels. He had forgotten that Ron and Ginny had to be somewhere in the house and he wasn't looking forwards to running into Ron.

"You'll be staying for dinner, of course!"

Tearing his eyes away from the door, Harry gave Mrs Weasley an apologetic look.

"Sorry, Hermione's mum and dad are coming to mine tonight to help finish the arrangements for the ceremony …if I don't manage to visit again before, I'll see you all at the ball though! I don't think I'd be able to bear it if there weren't as many friendly faces as possible there."

Molly Weasley being there or not didn't make a lot of difference to him either way – she might have had everyone's best interests at heart but she could be so very overbearing. However, Harry was certain it was the best way to remind her that he was capable of making his own decisions without hurting her feelings.

Hermione was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs, her back straight and her expression unreadable. At Harry's questioning look she simply shook her head and looked over his shoulder to where Padfoot was sitting at the front door, his tail thumping softly against the carpet and Remus tried to argue quietly with the dog.

"We have been through this…yes I know we walked here…if you suggest a glamour one more time I'll make sure you look like a Pomeranian…Pads really, it's too…don't give me that look it won't…oh in the name of…_fine, _but if you get caught it's your own fault and you're wearing a collar."

Harry had never seen a dog give anyone a suggestive smirk and he wasn't sure how he managed it but, with an old scarf transfigured to look like a collar and lead, Padfoot joined them on the two hour walk back to Harry's house.

**A/N: I am very not well today so, whilst I'm sitting on my ass in a waiting room for hours on end I thought I would see what I can get written. **

**The one thing I see a lot in HHr fics (and in ones that I really, really love! So it's not a bad thing per say, just not **_**my**_** thing) is Dumbledore acting like a toddler throwing a tantrum and I was really hoping to avoid that. My feelings have always been that he **_**is**_** honestly trying his best but without considering that other people have feelings and opinions of their own.**

**Before anyone asks about Snape and Dumbledore being legilimens and being able to read the secret of Harry's whereabouts from his thoughts – I think to think that an in-built feature of the charms is that the secret can only be shared purposefully through speaking it or writing it down. So, whilst it can be tortured from someone, it can't be stolen directly from their mind. **

**A quick google will tell you that Grimmauld Place is in the Borough of Islington and, as you might have guessed, I'm kind of a stickler for practical travelling. Two hours seems like a long way to walk but I think sometimes the most mundane ways are the safest. **


	15. Chapter 15

15.

Harry was terrified.

Dobby had been poking around Potter Manor for days now, making sure there was nothing too horrible to be found and clearing the thick layer of dust that had gathered since his grandparents had passed and Harry had been looking forwards to seeing it since they had decided to use it for the Ball.

But standing outside the massive double doors, he had frozen with his hand pressed against the wrought iron handle.

Gaining access to the old properly had been easy enough – the portfolio had explained that any properties held under the family name would be unlocked by the Potter ring and that, once inside, he could pick and choose who was to be admitted on a case-by-case basis. There was, he was told, a access book in the main Potter vault which would let him grant permanent access to a small number of people but he hadn't quite gotten round to looking at it. He was, however, assured that each page of names became invalid on the death of each Lord and the list would have to be started anew.

The doors themselves were around half the height of the front doors at Hogwarts and made of a solid, dark wood with metalwork in an intricate filigree design sprawling across them. The rest of the manor was built, according to Dan, in a Scottish Baronial style, centred around a central tower house, with turrets and small battlements and even two carved dragons, locked in a fierce battle, above the door. Despite its size, it looked warm and homely with ivy crawling up the walls and smoke pouring from some of the many chimneys. The long drive up towards the front door had, at one time, been lined with some kind of magical rose bush that was now twice as tall as Harry and filled the whole area with the most wonderful smell.

After all of the planning they had done, he just wasn't sure if he was ready to see the place his dad grew up, to see the place he should have visited as a child and maybe grown up in himself.

Hermione, who seemed to understand these things far better than Harry could explain, put her hand on his arm lightly.

"We can always try again later – there's still a few days before the Ball…I'm sure we could…"

Harry steeled his resolve, pulling together what courage he had.

"No. I need to see it before we decorate it…I want to see it how it was first…"

He pushed open the door, which didn't creak like he had expected it to, and stepped inside.

The entrance hall was a large square room with a massive spiral staircase leading towards the upper floors. From what he had read, the main tower led up into a giant observatory that also offered views for miles around. The internal space was skewed slightly, not quite matching the dimensions outside, and Harry was reminded of Mr Weasley's old Ford Anglia.

The four wandered around the lower floors, discussing where would be best to hang decorations and how they could coordinate the night. The public rooms were easy – there were only a few hints of personality here and there from Lords and Ladies that Harry was well enough removed from. It was when they moved to the first floor and found some of the family rooms, that his heart jumped into his throat.

In one room, what looked like it had been a sitting room, there were hundreds of photographs in frames covering the simple red wallpaper and scattered over every imaginable surface. Most were of his father and grandparents but there were also handfuls of photographs of his parents wedding and the Marauders standing with their arms around each other. Harry had to close the door quietly, promising to himself he would spend time in there another day, committing each image to memory.

Many of the rooms seemed to follow a distinctly Gryffindor colour scheme, with red and gold dominating the house. It didn't feel stuffy, as Harry might have expected, but there was just enough variation to make it feel warm and welcoming.

One of his ancestors must have had a fascination with dragons because he found carvings and statues scattered throughout the house and, when he looked out of a large bay window in one of the guest bedrooms, he realised there was a large ornamental fountain in the gardens to the back of the house. He had expected to see a lion standing proudly in the centre but was once again confronted with a statue that bore a striking resemblance to a Hungarian Horntail.

The house was confusing, that was for sure, and Harry soon made his way back downstairs where he found Emma directing Dobby as he levitated a large oak table into place.

Harry stood in the middle of a crowded ballroom with his guests surrounding him. His heart had been hammering in his chest since he'd woken up that morning and it had taken him an hour to get his shaking hands to cooperate with the buttons on his plain black dress robes.

He felt like an idiot, standing in the middle of a circle of people, with his hand on a book that seemed to eject a cloud of dust if anyone so much as looked at it. The ceremony itself had been dull and incredibly tedious – involving a wizened old man reading out the history of the Wizengamot before asking Harry if he was willing to accept his title and land and the responsibilities that came with it.

It ended when Harry nodded that yes, yes he was perfectly ready to do all of that.

The Wizengamot itself seemed to work in two tiers – the Lords were those who inherited their seats and held them for life and then the members who held positions in the Ministry of Magic or who had been voted into vacant seats as old families died out or relinquished their seats. Harry recognised some of the names as the Lords were introduced but the only two that truly stuck in his mind were Longbottom and Malfoy.

Madame Longbottom was as intimidating as ever, though she had swapped her vulture-topped had for the same austere-looking black one that the rest of the Wizengamot were wearing. When Harry, who was being introduced to each member of the Wizengamot in turn, reached her she offered him a warm smile.

"It is good to fin ally meet you, Lord Potter. My Neville has spoken ever so highly of you…you and Miss Granger have made quite the impression on him, I do hope she'll be here?"

"Yes, Madame Longbottom…Hermione's around somewhere – it was her parents that helped organise all of this, I couldn't have done it without them."

The gentleman beside her smirked.

"Yes, two muggles helping to organise the ascension ball of a wizarding lord. Quite the stir you've caused Lord Potter. Abraxas Malfoy, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Draco's grandfather bore only a passing resemblance to his son and grandson. He was a tall, dark wizard with weather beaten skin and few wrinkles despite the fact that he had to be well into his eighties. His hair was long and white and fell in thick, straight sheets around his shoulders, blinding against the black of his dress robes and his eyes, though pale, betrayed an intelligence that seemed more curious and playful than malicious. He shook Harry's hand quite enthusiastically.

"Yes, I believe you know my grandson as well - nasty business with the Hippogriff but Lucius _will _over react about everything and cause such a fuss."

Harry wasn't quite sure how to react to Lord Malfoy, the old wizard had not been what Harry was expecting at all.

"Yes, sir…I've met Draco once or twice…I…"

"No need to fumble to be polite, the boy can be an insufferable fop when he puts his mind to it but he'll learn soon enough. Just have that young muggle-born witch put him in his place once or twice more and it'll have him thinking twice about causing trouble."

With his thoughts thoroughly in a jumble, Harry continued around the circle until there were so many names filtering through his head that he was having trouble remembering his own.

It was a blessing when Emma, who was dressed in a black, knee-length gown, announced that the buffet was ready, if they would all like to make their way to the formal dining room across the hall.

**A/N: The architecture of Potter Manor is absolutely a **_**huge**_** self-indulgence. Scottish Baronial is one of my favourite styles and I have no other excuses to offer. The house itself is supposed to be confusing – though not as bad as the jumble of moving staircases at Hogwarts. I don't think I'll ever explain it in full in this story but think of it as a ward against nosey people at high society parties – the family (and close friends who spend enough time there) will get used to the house and not worry about getting lost but guests who try to sneak about and go where they're not supposed to will keep getting turned around and deposited back at their rooms or in the entrance hall. **

**Proxies acting for Lords on the Wizengamot are afforded the same respects that the 'official' members would be given, even if they are not referred to by title. I was deliberately vague about the ceremony itself because I quite like the idea of it being make out to be a huge, esoteric, magical thing when it's really a trumped up introduction. I was tempted to describe a huge coronation-type scene but I though a slightly underwhelming 'is that it?' effect matched the personality of the Wizengamot a lot better. **

**Oh man, I just really wanted to have fun with Abraxas. I didn't want him to be a cast-iron death eater like Lucius but don't go getting any misconceptions that he's a fluffy puppy. He's done some nasty shit and he still falls decidedly on the dark side of the line. He's just a politically minded old man who knows what way the wind is blowing. **


	16. Chapter 16

16.

Some of the food on the buffet had put Mrs Weasley's cooking to shame and one of the first things she had asked Harry for was _recipes_. It had all been Emma's idea to scrap the formal dinner with its ten courses and convoluted menu, in favour of throwing some of the stuffier purebloods off of their game.

Dobby had been fascinated by the left over from Chinese and Indian restaurants that were sometimes to be found in the fridge and Emma and Dan had taken the House Elf on a covert research mission where he became quite enamoured with the variety of flavours that were opened up to him and he had outdone himself where food was concerned, even splitting the dining room up by continent of origin.

Over the course of the evening, Harry even caught some of his friends from school talking excitedly to their parents about the vast range of food that Dobby had prepared and Emma was seen quietly high fiving her husband in the very back corner of the room as she heard the smattering of compliments.

Hermione, who had been lurking near the door of the ballroom during the ceremony so she could help her mother and Dobby, had vanished completely and Harry had found himself with Ginny Weasley on his arm as he tried to locate her. Ginny was dressed in the same dress she had worn to the Yule Ball as Neville's date though it looked as if it had been altered to a slightly darker shade of green.

Once Dobby had been given enough time to change the ballroom from the drab ceremonial hangings they had found in the attic to the bright silver and gold hangings that Emma had sketched out on a napkin, people began to drift back toward the room and Harry knew that the part he was most dreading was approaching.

It was only as he crossed the entrance hall, with Ginny just behind him chatting away to her mother, that his jaw dropped and he found himself wondering how it was she had this effect.

Hermione was standing at the first turn of the spiral stairs, peering nervously down at the steady stream of people. She had been wearing a simple red dress earlier and had looked decidedly lovely but now Harry realised where she had been all evening.

The dress she wore now was similar to the one Emma was in but Hermione's was a shade of green so dark that Harry thought it was black until it caught the light. The only jewellery she wore was a simple silver necklace with a tiny diamond pendant and a matching silver bracelet and her hair, though just as sleek as it have been at the Yule Ball, was hanging lose around her shoulders with only a few strands pulled back out of her face, all held in place with an elegant silver filigree clasp that sparkled in the light when she turned to look at something behind her.

She blushed lightly as people began to notice her and whisper and she looked as if she wanted to turn around and walk back up the stairs but Harry, who had been moving unconsciously towards her, had held out his hand for her to take.

"You look amazing…"

He was quite sure that 'amazing' wasn't the word he was looking for but it was the only thing his mind could process.

Completely awestruck by the changes in his best friend, he allowed himself to be swept into the ballroom and it wasn't until they were standing in the middle of the room that he remembered he was supposed to open the dancing.

"Uh…"

Hermione giggled gesturing over his shoulder to where Fred and George were pulling McGonagall and Sprout out the middle of the hall and felt some of his never vanish – they had mentioned they would try and take the pressure off if they could and he'd had horrible visions of fireworks being set off and spelling out insults to half of the room.

Looking back down at Hermione, he thought he might just be able to manage this.

Harry hadn't particularly enjoyed the Yule all but this was something on a completely different level. After the dancing, Harry and Hermione had managed to break away from the bulk of the crowd and found themselves surrounded by members of the Order who were quietly keeping everyone else out of Harry's way.

Neville had been one of the first to find them afterwards, ducking behind Moody and making his way over to them with a bright smile.

"Hi guys! You've done brilliantly with this! D'you think your mum would mind planning my ball when I'm seventeen?"

Hermione pretended to look around hurredly for her mother.

"Don't say that, Neville! She'll have it planned within the week and you'll never hear te end of it!"

Neville laughed with them and Harry caught sight of his grandmother smiling fondly at them from the other side of the room.

"You look wonderful Hermione. I don't think half of them know what to say – ankles are not very formal, you know?"

"I thought as much, and here mum and I even have _knees_ on display! They must think we muggles are so uncultured."

It was nice to just be teenager for a while but Harry wasn't able to revel in it – they'd agreed with Remus that there were so many things they could achieve with a word in the right ear and Harry was on the look out for Remus sending the witch they needed his way.

"Lord Potter, it's nice to meet you again."

"Madame Bones, I'm glad you could make it!"

Harry slipped away from Neville and Hermione, the latter giving him a knowing nod.

"Mr Lupid tells me you were hoping to catch me, I would have been foolish to ignore the invite."

"There was something I wanted to ask you about but it was before your time as head of the DMLE…I don't know how much you would know about the events surrounding the arrest of Sirius Black."

He was speaking in hushed tones, even though they remained surrounded by people who knew of Sirius' innocence.

"I've had his file sitting on my desk since he escaped, I can assure you I know it back to front."

"And don't you find it interesting that he was sent to Azkaban without a trial?"

Madame Bones looked at him with a mixture of curiosity and pity.

"I'm not sure where you're going with this but it's a complex matter…ah! Please, just let me explain before you launch into the impassioned speech I'm sure you have prepared. Mr Black was given a Trial by Proxy, one of the pieces war time legislation that helped put known Death Eaters behind bars. Evidence was presented, by Crouch and Dumbledore, when he was already in a cell…it's horribly unreliable method but they were desperate times as I'm sure you're aware."

Harry's heart sunk a little but he pressed on all the same.

"What if I could provide new evidence that proves them both wrong?"

"Are you suggesting that they could have lied at the trial?"  
"No, no! Only that what they _believed_ and what _actually_ happened are two wholly different things. I'm told that the Auror department are still wasting a lot of time and money looking for Sirius and what I know could help put an end to that."

Her eyes flickered up towards Kingsley Shacklebolt before she returned her attention to Harry.

"And would you be happy to submit that knowledge, to a full court, under veritaserum? With the questions agreed beforehand, of course."

Harry smiled.

**A/N: The whole ball is a little more lack lustre than I'd hoped for but, as someone who avoids large parties like the plague, I've got very little idea how to write them. **

**Fair warning, the next chapter will include something of a spoiler for the other (Marauders Era) fic that I'm working on that I'll be posting after this. **


	17. Chapter 17

17.

Harry and Hermione were laughing loudly and supporting each other as they walked back though the door to Harry's house. The Grangers were going to be staying with him for the last two days before they left for school and even the thought of an early start couldn't tempt the two teenagers to bed.

Hermione had link her arm with Harry's as they walked back along the street from where Remus and Tonks had apparated them to and they were only a few steps in front of her exhausted parents.

With the door closed firmly behind them, Emma kissed them both on the cheek and moved towards the stairs.

"Don't stay up too late, now. Remember we've got a busy day ahead of us tomorrow, we've left getting your school things far too late and Diagon Alley is bound to be busy."

Once she heard the door to her parents' bedroom click shut, Hermione bodily collapsed onto the sofa, her dress fanning out around her so that Harry had to try and prod it out of the way just to get a seat.

"That was certainly different to the Yule Ball…Cho doesn't seem to be holding up very well but it was nice to see her smile a little."

Harry, who had been having infrequent nightmares about the battle in the graveyard, had only met Cho's eye once during the whole night and she had only nodded sadly before excusing herself. Looking back, the tension in the room had been obvious between the people he _knew_ were Death Eaters, the Ministry who were doing their best to subtly pick apart his reputation and credibility, and the Order who maintained an air of vague superiority throughout the whole affair.

"What about that horrible little woman in the pink robes?"

She hadn't been an official member of the Wizengamot but she had followed the Minister around all night like a very ugly lost puppy. When she had walked in the room, Remus had gone very pale and excused himself through gritted teeth.

"I've never seen Lupin so angry…remind me to ask him about her the next time I…I…I write."

Hermione was yawning now, her head tipped back against the couch and her eyes half lidded, the imaged tugged at Harry's heart and he found himself reaching out to brush a stray hair from her cheek.

"You really are beautiful, Hermione…not just tonight…I mean _especially _tonight but…just…in general…you're…yeah."

"Ron kissed me."

She slapped her hand over her mouth almost as soon as she'd said it but Harry was on his feet in a flash, kneeing in front of her as she screwed her eyes shut, trying to stop herself from crying. Once, maybe this time last year, he would have thought she'd _wanted_ something like that.

"'Mione…please…please don't cry…tell me what happened."

Holding onto her wrists, he managed to gently move her hands away from her face so he could see her properly.

"It was at Grimmauld Place, when you were in the meeting…he…he said he wanted to talk to me and I thought he was going to try to apologise again but he just…and I couldn't move, I didn't know what was happening and I haven't _told_ anyone but I just ran away…and he's tried to write to me but I've been ignoring him and that's why I ended up hiding so much tonight and clinging to you and Neville because he was just staring at me the whole time and I _just_ want him to…to leave me alone."

She wasn't crying, not properly, but her eyes were brimming with tears and her voice was so cracked and broken that Harry felt his blood boil at the thought of someone reducing her to this.

"Hermione…Hermione please look at me? Whatever you think, this isn't your fault, okay? You shouldn't have to hide from him just because he's got the wrong idea…I…_tell _me what to do and I'll do it – do you want me to talk to him? Or to the twins? They would probably get him to back off…"

She was shaking her head, her curls beginning to frizz a little and return to their normal state.

"No, no I just…I've felt so guilty over the whole thing. I didn't want to tell you in case you thought…in case you thought I wanted it, wanted him, or that I was trying to make you jealous or…"

"I'm never going to be jealous of anyone who tries to hurt you – I'm going to want to hex them into the next year, sure…but I won't be jealous. Hermione I…you know you're my best friend, yeah? Well…I know this probably isn't what you want to hear right but I think I might…I mean, I've never really felt like this about anyone. Not really…and for a while I thought you were the closest thing I had to a sister but after the last couple of months I think I was wrong. I was very, very wrong and what I'm trying to say is that…well…"

Harry was staring at their hands, he had meant to let go of her but somewhere during their short exchange, their fingers had laced together. It wasn't the most comfortable way to sit but he didn't want to move for fear of spoiling the moment. He glanced up at Hermione through his hair, which was starting to fall into his eyes, and tried to read her expression but he couldn't keep the smirk off of his face as she tried to stifle a yawn.

"Come on…we can talk about this later when we're both thinking straight."

Hermione allowed him to pull her to her feet and she didn't complain ad he led her up the stairs to that lead to both of their bedrooms. The air was still thick with things he'd been trying to say and although he was determined not to make her uncomfortable, Harry found he couldn't help but lean in and kiss her cheek lightly.

"I'll see you in the morning."

**A/N: This is just a short one but I'm just relieved to **_**finally**_** be pushing Harry and Hermione is the direction I want them to go. **

**I really don't know how I'm going to play this in the future but I'm hoping to start wrapping some of the plot lines up in the next handful of chapters because I'm going to start losing track other wise.**


	18. Chapter 18

18.

When Harry woke up the next morning, it was to his alarm blaring in his ears. With every movement, he could swear blind that he felt him pulse in his eyeballs and each step threatened to make his knees give out from under him.

He as used to the nightmares about Cedric's death, used to his mind forcing him to battle Voldemort over and over again and, when he wasn't dreaming about the thirds task, he was receiving vivid flashes of long dark corridors. What he wasn't used to, was spending the night tossing and turning seeing Hermione in place of Cedric.

Seeing her at breakfast, leaning over her mother's shoulder to read an article in the _Prophet_ was almost a relief. The small, warm smile didn't completely hide the pointed look her was giving him – they wouldn't be talking about their conversation until they were alone. Harry was perfectly fine with that arrangement, not entirely sure he was capable of feeling much beyond the ache in his joints until he'd woken up.

Dan, who had walked past Harry's room as he fought with his blankets and accidentally sent his glasses flying across the room, slid a large mug of coffee under his nose.

"I thought you were a lowed to do magic now? What was with the ruckus this morning?"

His spoke with no hint of malice, only a mixture of curiosity and amusement.

"Thanks…I think I'm just so used to _not_ using magic outside of school…it feels like cheating to do _everything_ with a wave of my wand."

In fact, the only thing he had considered using magic for in the last few weeks was to pack all of his Hogwarts things back into his trunk. He had left just enough space to add he books they were going to pick up that morning.

"Dobby's gone to clean up the Manor but he said Kingsley Shacklebolt left a message for us to meet him at Sirius' after we've finished shopping. Mum and dad said they would bring our things back here for us whilst we go."

Harry was impressed, Amelia Bones was clearly curious to see what he knew.

The two worst times to find yourself in Diagon Alley were the day after the Hogwarts letters arrived and the day before the train left – every shop had queues out of the doors and even Gringotts was struggling to keep up with demand with two or three people to every teller. Harry was thankful for the private corridor that took him down to the mail waiting room and he was even happier to see that it was devoid of any charmed letters from Dumbledore and only one from Ron – another attempt at an apology.

Harry wasn't sure how to feel – he had seen Ron only briefly at the ball and he _had_ been lurking in the corner with a scowl on his face. When he added that to what Hermione had told him, he just wasn't sure if he could face seeing him again, never mind sharing a dormitory with him.

They split up to covers as much ground as possible, meeting every hour or so until both Harry and Hermione had bags laden with their fifth year material and a good few books beside. Just because Hermione had dropped back down to a normal timetable after third year didn't mean she wasn't determine to utilise the school library to its fullest.

"There are some really obscure branches of magic I'm interested in researching – after all the nonsense last year, I want be sure about what we've accidentally started. There's also an advanced potions book…I want to see just how complex wolfsbane is because I feel wholly terrible about Remus being stuck relying on Professor Snape to make it for him. Even if I can't do it now, it's something I can strive for."

There was something in the way she said it that was daring anyone to disagree. Harry remembered Remus explaining it was a complex potion but then admitting in the same sentence that he was also hopeless at brewing. If anyone could do it, it was Hermione - she thrived on solving complex problems.

Harry had also picked up some books of House Elf magic, determined to fin d out more about what he was dealing with when it came to Dobby. A lot of the books they found, be it on Werewolves or House Elves or Family Magic, was heavily biased and Harry could see Hermione's confidence dip every time she picked up a book that proclaimed it would teach _pureblood_ magic.

The notion was baffling and clearly designed for people who never socialised out with their own circles because the books just contained perfectly normal spells with a healthy side of bigotry. Harry almost laughed when he found a Pureblood set of Hogwarts textbooks, re-written to cater to a more _refined_ taste.

They left the Grangers having lunch in the Leaky Cauldron and took the tube to Grimmauld Place. Both were glad they had walked with Remus the first time because they found themselves very nearly lost on exiting the station and it took them just a fraction longer than they would have liked to get there.

When they arrived, Molly as just finished clearing away lunch and it looked like half of the Order was there helping them clean the place out. Harry felt a small pang of guilt – had it not been for his ball, he and Hermione might have offered to help clean the old house.

Though Molly greeted them kindly enough, there was a coldness to her that Harry hadn't seen since she'd sent Hermione that howler after the _Witch Weekly _article. Sirius, on the other hand, was sitting close to the fire, with his head his hands, groaning whenever anyone breathed too loudly.

"Are you…"

"Molly's hidden the hangover potions and Moony thinks it's just _hilarious_ to side with her."

Moody, who had just hobbled into the kitchen that minute, clapped Sirius on the shoulder and laughed.

"That's what y'get for putting away three bottles of elven wine after barely drinking for over a decade. Get a bit over excited about Kingsley's news, eh?"

Sirius tried to swat him away but Moody pushed a ratty old photography into his hands instead.

"Found this in my old work things last night, thought this pair might be interested in it if you don't mind doing the introductions. I've got a shift at…well, I'm on duty in fifteen minutes."

Sirius stared at the photo for a minute before gesturing for Harry and Hermione to sit next to him.

"I forgot about this photo…what you're looking at is the _original_ Order…it must have been the summer before Lily and Prongs went into hiding. If I remember correctly, you were sitting behind the camera with Minerva."

It was unnerving to see Lily and James Potter waving happily at him from the old photograph and odder still to see Peter Pettigrew standing in the middle of them all. Sirius pointed at the faces they didn't recognise, a sad smile crossing his face as he pointed out the people who had died not long after the photograph was taken. As he spoke, Remus had joined them, fresh from whatever Order business he'd been attending to, and added stories that Sirius had forgotten.

Looking at the photograph, Harry realised that he had always thought there wold be so many more of them. He said as much to Sirius but his Godfather shook his head.

"That was everyone, except…"

He faltered, his eyes unfocused and his grip on the photo tightening, crumpling the paper. Remus tapped his shoulder twice as, without a word, Sirius stood up and left the room.

"Everyone except for Isla Stuart…Sirius…Voldemort killed her in front of him, she took a reducto to her back and died in his arms. He's never gotten over it, not really. He's alright unless she comes up unexpectedly."

Harry stared at the door Sirius had just left through – he'd never considered that Sirius might have had some kind of love life.

**A/N: I wasn't going to mention the link to my other fic but I thought it would tie in nicely so, to hell with it. Isla won't be a bit part of this story beyond maybe being mentioned on occasion. **


End file.
